Alone in the DR
by StraightTalking
Summary: Letty's story of what she got up to after Dom left her in the DR. Disclaimer. I own no characters from fast and furious. Contains spoilers for furious 7.
1. Prolouge

**Dom's POV**

 _"How long have we been doing this, now all of a sudden out of nowhere, it's too much. C'mon we'll figure it out, we always do."_

As I sat there in the silent bedroom, in my head all I could hear was Letty saying those words with utter conviction and her fierce passion. I could hear her undying loyalty and her love for me in those words. I could imagine her face, for those seconds as the words spilled from her lips, for once tender and loving. Her eyes filled with passion. Yet, here I was trying to protect her. I was trying to protect the woman I loved most. Even if the cops caught up to us, her forgiveness would not be in short supply but I'd never forgive myself for letting her get caught. She didn't deserve to live her life behind the bars of a prison cell and I'd do anything to make sure that it didn't happen.

There was only one solution to this and damn did I hate myself for it. I had to leave her. There was no other option for us. I'd pondered over this for the last few hours in the darkness of the bedroom of the house we had rented. In her sleep she lay sprawled across the bed, blissfully unaware of the shitty move I was about to make. She'd never forgive me for the decision I was about to make and I knew I'd crush her.

However, this woman was something more than other women, she was incredibly strong. Even if she moped around her moping wouldn't last. She'd pick herself up, dust herself off and stay to fight another day. That intense fighting spirit was what had drawn me to her in the first place. I saw her fight the day I met her and tonight I had seen her fight before I left her.

With my heart aching I took the money from our last job, carried out that day, and placed it on the table beside the bed along with money from my last few jobs. I stacked it up on the table and placed our necklace on top of it.

In her sleep she twisted and I knelt down on the ground and placed my hand ontop of hers. I kissed her forehead for the last time. Letty looked beautiful in the moonlight, like she always had. In her sleep she looked finally at peace, relaxed. I'd always loved watching Letty sleep, seeing her so calm was an otherwise rare occurrence.

"Perdóname mi hermosa esposa," I murmured. "Te amo."

I rose to my feet once more and quietly made my way to the door.

Looking back at the beach view house I felt hatred burn up inside my stomach. I hated myself for this. I knew when she awoke she'd be angry and confused. She'd likely search for me and then she would see that there was no car in the drive. My woman, she was a fighter though, she'd survive. Knowing her she'd head somewhere familiar whether it be Mexico or back to LA, her home.

I drove in the darkness, hating myself for what I had done to her. Today had shown me that I loved her than I loved myself. Today, she had been gripping onto a ladder on the side of a gas truck on a heist that I'd suggested. She could have fallen off completely, could have died. Letty never mentioned that incident after it occurred, never mentioned that it had scared her. I knew it had scared her, her doe eyes had turned dark as fear dyed them. Only Letty's deep brown eyes gave away her emotions and you had to watch them carefully because she could change the feeling in her eyes with ease. The feeling in her eyes was like a flicker of light, a brief flash and it was gone. The incident of her hanging tightly to the ladder had terrified me. We'd taken the gamble letting me smash into the side of the truck and it had been all to easy for her to fall off. We'd had sticky spots on heists before but never one where I practically saw her clinging for life itself.

Texting Han to pick up my car at the airport to sell, I lifted a wad of cash from my pocket. I needed a plane ticket somewhere Letty wouldn't find me. I needed another place to call home. Maybe if the heat settled I'd beg for her forgiveness and she would join me there. If she didn't forgive me the only person I could blame was myself.

One place caught my eye. Panama, I'd go there. I placed a wad of cash on the counter at the ticket desk and the lady raised an eyebrow and took what she needed.

I boarded the plane and in my head I could hear Letty telling me in her passionate voice. "Ride or die, remember?" That had always been our question. We weren't the type of couple who needed to say I love you, instead we asked each other ride or die? Our phrase was about riding together, no matter what. I'd broken that promise to her. It was a promise to live free together in the life we loved because without the adrenaline filled life we lived we'd be dead inside. It was the one promise we'd always agreed to keep no matter the circumstances. Sometimes it's hard to make a choice but I'd made my choice and as long as I lived I'd never love another woman as much as I loved my wife, Leticia Toretto.


	2. Chapter 1

**Letty's POV**

 _"You will never be alone again."_

My own promises to Dom rang through my head as I lay there pretending to be asleep. I lay there knowing all the while he was sat in the wicker chair in the corner of the room deciding how to best sneak out of the room. As I lay there I knew he was about to leave me. I didn't want him to be alone in this world yet I could feel his eyes burning into my 'sleeping' form as he struggled to justify in his own mind the decision he was about to make. He was going to leave me. I didn't know how to stop him. For the first time ever I couldn't act on something. It just had to happen.

 _"I vow wherever you go, I go."_

I wanted to go everywhere with him. See the world with him. Spend my days at his side no matter where it was. No matter how far away from LA it brought us. It didn't matter where we were so long as we were together. I didn't even care about running from the cops, we'd been running so long I barely knew another way of life.

Dom shifted uncomfortably in the chair and the wicker creaked beneath his weight. A weight which not that long ago had been rested carefully on top of me. Even though I couldn't see him, as I was keeping my eyes gently closed to keep up the pretence of sleep, I knew he'd be sitting leant over slightly with his hands drawn up to his mouth as though he were mumbling silent prayers when in reality he was mulling over how best to slip out of here without me knowing.

 _"You ride, I ride."_

My vows ran through my mind. I'd kept that promise. Even though I hadn't wanted to when Dom had suggested the oil heist for the people I'd been opposed to a certain degree but I'd gone with him anyway. The heist had been messy. It was as though we weren't completely skilled at it anymore. Working with the team yesterday hadn't been the easiest thing ever. When the truck driver had clapped eyes on me walking along the top of one of the tankers he'd begun to swerve. As I dropped I grappled wildly for the ladder. Once I had a grip on the ladder I acknowledged the fear I'd felt in that move. When Dom had told me to spray the connecting wires with the gas I'd hesitated. However like always when I saw the look in his eyes I knew what to do and why. Then I'd held on for dear life for the second time that day and it was in that move I'd seen Dom's terror. His eyes gave it away. They darkened about three shades and got wider.

 _"You fight, I fight."_

Again I'd always kept that promise despite having only recently made it out loud. I'd always fought alongside Dom. Never shying away from anything that threatened my man. I'd fought alongside him against Tran and Lance. Given as good as I'd gotten from Lance. I'd walked away from fights with black eyes, split lips, bloodied noses and once a broken rib, all for him. I never complained because I'd never wanted to be one of those girls who mildly stood on the sidelines, I'd always wanted to be in the thick of it all. There was no one it had been better to be in the thick of a fight with. We knew what the other was about to do without words.

 _"And if you ever die on me Dominic Toretto, I'm gonna die with you."_

If anything ever happened to him it would kill me. To me there was no world where he didn't exist. No world where I didn't hear his booming laugh or see his smile. He was everything to me. We didn't go in for saying I love you a lot, I could probably count on both hands the amount of times I had said it, we didn't need to tell each other I love you to know that the other person cared. Words are meaningless unless you back them up with actions. Despite rarely saying the actual words I knew he loved me and he knew I loved him. My last promise in my vows should've shown him that there was nothing in this world for me if he weren't here. Obviously he didn't realise that.

I heard Dom rise from his chair. The wicker creaked slightly as he rose. He'd decided to leave now. In the cover of darkness and no doubt not even leave me a note or any explanation at all. I felt him standing over me then suddenly I knew his face was close to mine. The words, "Please stay," bubbled on my lips but I refused to say them out loud. I wouldn't beg him to stay. If staying would make him unhappy then I couldn't ask him to stay here. He needed to be happy more than anything else.

Keeping my features relaxed to maintain my charade of sleep I lay as still as I could. This was incredibly hard. He thought I was asleep or choosing to believe I was asleep and I was trying to make it easier for him by pretending.

His lips brushed my forehead so lightly I was barely sure I had felt it. That kiss was filled with pain and heartache. Dom thought he was doing this for me when all he needed to do was stay. He thought he was protecting me. I longed to reach out and bring his lips down to mine, kiss him one more time. Maybe even say goodbye and have some closure on this but I didn't. He probably needed the closure more than I did in order to live with his decision.

"Perdóname mi hermosa esposa," he murmured. "Te amo."

His last words to me acknowledged that I was his wife. He was asking for forgiveness from me. Forgiveness which I would always grant him. Whether he'd forgive himself for his actions was the real question. I doubted he ever would.

I waited until I heard the distinct rumble Chevrolet Chevelle's engine pull out of the gravelled yard outside the house before I rose from the bed. I sat on the edge of the bed and buried my face in my hands and howled. Howled for his stupid determination. Howled for my own naivety that I believed nothing would separate us this time. Howled for us.

Beside the bed sat a generous stack of cash making me feel like a whore as he'd fucked me and left me and our necklace. I lifted the necklace which Dom and I had exchanged in the place of rings to honour our wedding vows. Wrestling with the urge to throw the necklace at the wall I stared at it helplessly. The heavy silver cross rested in my open palm, the fake diamonds glittering in the moonlight with flooded in the window. The thick silver chain fell over the back of my hand. Closing my hand tightly around the cross I felt the jewels dig into the soft flesh of my hand. It would leave a faint imprint but I didn't care.

Opening my hand again I unclasped the chain and slid it on. I hooked it behind my neck and internally promised to wear it as long as I lived. I'd wear it like I'd have worn a wedding ring. The necklace would be my symbol of my marriage which no one knew of. That didn't matter though, we knew and that was the important thing.

It was only five in the morning but I gathered my things together into a bag. All apart from my beautiful wedding dress, it was nowhere to be found. Odd thing for Dom to take but I didn't question it. Perhaps it was best I didn't have it. I'd probably destroy it because I was certain it was marriage which had changed Dom's perception of our relationship. Nothing else.

I locked up the house which we'd been renting and headed to the airport. The money which had been left beneath the necklace totalled roughly around three large. Plenty to bring me back to LA. I'd only visited a handful of times these last few years but I felt a tugging at my heartstrings to go back there. I missed it there. I just needed time with Mia. Time back in 1327 to heal.

Sliding into my 70's Plymouth I leant back in the leather seat. It was comfy. Lifting my brick of a cell phone to my ear I called a service to lift the car at the airport and have it delivered back to LA for me. I loved this car too much to sell it on. I had built it from scratch myself. A glossy silver paintwork told the hours of labouring love I'd poured into this car. Even Dom had been impressed by how it had turned out.

At the airport I met the guy who was supposed to lift the car and paid him. That part was easy. Getting a direct flight to LA was more difficult. In the end I paid twice what I should've been paying for the flight but I didn't fuss. I didn't care anymore. I just wanted to go home. Deep inside I sought the comfort only LA could bring. The solace that I'd always found there.

There was a two hour wait so I settled myself into one of the seats in the cafe and waited. I bought a coffee and breakfast and sat and ate in restless peace.

When I was finished I sat and watched the world go past. My eyes involuntarily latched onto couples. Men sat with their arms hooked around their girlfriends shoulders as they sat on the seats waiting on their flight. Women rested their heads on their mans shoulder as they sat comfortably. Some couples just held hands as they sat together. Jealously prickled inside me as I wished that were Dom and I. Airports were strange places. They were places of love and hate, of joy and sadness. Places where some said goodbye and others said hello.

To distract myself from my writhing feelings of jealousy I cast my mind back over my time with Dom. Even though everyone saw us as Mr and Mrs Alpha minus the wedding bands we were surprisingly romantic when we spent time alone. Every time we drifted apart I clung on tightly to my memories of our time together as if to hold onto him for that little bit longer. A person without memories is nothing more than a shadow of themselves. It is our memories that define us and how we live our lives. They were an intricate part of who we are and who we'd grow to be.

 _The memory of a night when we were a relatively young couple rose to the forefront of my memory. I was eighteen and Dom was twenty one. We were curled up in his bed, my body still tingling from our lovemaking and his breathing was still uneven as though he'd run a marathon. His hand was splayed across the base of my back and my head was rested on his chest. The room was lit with the moonlight which flooded in through the narrow gaps in the blinds in the window opposite the bed._

 _"Hey Dom," I murmured in the half lit room._

 _"Yeh?" He replied lazily._

 _"Why me? Why me when you could have any girl you wanted?" I'd always wanted to ask him why he was drawn to a curvy Latina with a mass of dark wavy hair with little height to her, as some liked to remark, and a reputation for fighting._

 _"Why you?" Dom chuckled as he thought. "Let, because there's no one quite like you. You with those amazing eyes that can see right through the bullshit to the good in someone. You're twenty per cent Angel, eighty percent devil. You ain't afraid to get a little engine grease under your fingernails."_

 _His reply made me flush with colour. Too stunned to tell him why I loved him I kissed him hard instead, letting him roll me over for another long session in bed._

Coming back to the present was difficult. Being alone in the airport was tough. All around me people were travelling in pairs or groups. I felt like I were the only person on my own. Last time I'd been so excited with the anticipation of seeing Dom that I'd completely forgotten I was alone.

 _My first night in the DR surfed in my mind. I'd landed around five in the late afternoon. The first thing I noticed was the humidity. It was a sticky heat which instantly made beads of sweat roll down my arms and I chuckled. It would take a couple of hours to adjust. The weather in the country was temperamental as within two hours a warm mizzle of rain fell but as suddenly as it had begun it was over._

 _I arrived at a party at this guy Elvis' house, I'd heard Dom was there. From the outside the house looked only slightly larger than the average house. Inside it was stunningly decorated. Lavish with no expense spared. I picked my way through the crowd, feeling scruffy in my jeans and tank top. Girls were dressed to impress in little skirts and cropped tops exposing long, tanned legs and flat stomachs. My naturally tanned skin looked almost pale compared to these girls but I soon realised there was the slight smell of fake tan lingering in the air. I smirked, I was all natural and they, well, they were much like their tan; fake. Laughter rose and fell as girls forced giggles and simpered for the man they were attempting to impress. My own scoff soon filled the air as I dismissed these girls and their weak minded attitudes quickly. The smell of cigarette smoke with a twinge of cigar smoke and alcohol lingered in the air around me and I screwed up my nose when the undercurrent of fake tan also present made the smell sickening._

 _Eventually I spied Dom seated on a love seat with a girl hooked under each arm. Pausing I watched for a moment as he kissed one girl then turned and kissed the other, a degrading thing to do, even to skanks. I wrestled with my jealousy as I wanted nothing more than to scratch one of the girls eyes out and slap the other one until her cheeks were red. With a bit of self assurance, something these girls clearly had an excessive amount of, I made my way towards them. They must have felt someone's eyes on them because when Dom looked at me in questioning amazement I leant back against the sideboard and smiled._

 _"It ain't that hard to track you down. All I gotta do is follow the odour of skanks." I rolled my eyes affectionately but he knew I was a little peeved._

 _"Letty," Dom said as he leant forward away from the girls. "Life has a way of changing people's plans."_

 _"You hear this one?" I asked in Spanish before reverting back to English, "Change of plans. Where do we sleep?"_

 _"Excuse me," Dom said to the girls as he stood up. His smile turned into a real one, I knew the difference._

 _"That's right, all the way from Mexico sucker!" I said with a giant grin as I looked at him._

 _He leant in and kissed me but as he ran his tongue over my bottom lip I pulled away and I saw confusion light his eyes. But I soon explained in Spanish, "I don't want the taste of their saliva in my mouth!"_

 _Dom laughed a full throated ringing laugh so much unlike the fake laughter of which this party consisted. The sincerity of his laugh made it seem almost out of place despite the fact it was probably the most natural thing in this whole room. He took my hand and we headed towards the door, him carrying my bag over his shoulder._

Shaking my head I shook the memory away, it was fresh enough to leave a sting. It was like rubbing salt in open wounds as it reminded me how content we were to be together until he inexplicably left. That happened ten days ago. Ten days ago I'd landed in the DR thinking we'd maybe settle here for a couple of months, keep the criminal activity to a minimum just for now. Maybe just enjoy being together, for the first time in what felt like a long time. Without even consciously deciding it I began to play with the necklace, our necklace. When I'd arrived he'd told me I was in just in time for an adventure. Little did I know the adventure was the heisting of the oil for the people of the DR. Not quite your typically romantic honeymoon but it was oddly perfect for us and I'd never change it for anything.


	3. Chapter 2

**Letty's POV**

My flight was called so I rose from the hard chair I'd been sitting on and lifted the book which I'd been carrying in my bag for the last six months. I'd put it on the table so it didn't look like I was staring into space idly. I was pretending to do something.

I took my seat on the plane and clipped my seatbelt on. Closing my eyes I gripped onto the arms of the seat. I hated the sensation of taking off. It was a weird feeling in my stomach. I'd always hated taking off in planes. I loved flying but taking off caused problems for me. There wasn't really a reason, it just was me.

My eyes fluttered closed as I sat in the seat. Exhaustion from not sleeping last night combined with the anticipation of what Dom was about to do was finally catching up to me. Without planning too I easily fell into a sleep.

 _In my head my mind decided to replay Dom and I's strangely perfect first kiss. I was fifteen and it was a few weeks after my disastrous first street race. Dom had been chasing me for the few weeks before trying to apologise for wiping out right next to me. No matter what I said about forgetting about it, he wouldn't let up. He kept apologising and apologising. By that point I was irritated to say the least. I'd forgiven him in a heartbeat and knew without thinking too hard about it, I'd always forgive him in a heartbeat._

 _We'd started flirting a little, but every time he tried to kiss me I'd draw back. I was playing a careful game. One which would easily backfire and one I was expecting to collapse around me very very soon. Yet in those few weeks the night time sleepovers with the racer chasers had trickled very closely to a stop. I was almost impressed but I couldn't be sure he was doing this for me. He could have easily been doing it because he had buried his dick in almost every other girl in LA and was trying to pace himself through the rest so he wouldn't have to return to anyone for seconds._

 _Stubbornly I headed to the street races a few weeks later despite Mia's threats that she'd never speak to me again if I went. However, I too was a teenager and knew she was merely being dramatic so I went anyway and wasn't all that surprised when she came too._

 _The races that night were fun. I stood on the sidelines and watched, holding my breath when Dom got into his MK2 Escort which he was racing in until he got a more permanent car sorted. The Escort was something else. A deep sapphire blue it seemed to stand out even amongst the dense sea of other muscle cars and imports. Maybe it was the driver that made it stand out for me. All night I could barely take my eyes off the Escort as it rallied up and down the street in straight quarter miles. This time I noticed his eyes never left the road in front of him and it was then I learned the golden rule of racing. Never look anywhere that isn't the straight road in front of you and never look in your rearview mirror. You can't focus on what's in front of you if you're constantly looking behind._

 _Anyways that night I lingered until Dom and I were the only ones left. Mia had gone home an hour or so before complaining bitterly about the cool night air. I'd stood on in my jeans and cropped bikers jacket. I was freezing but I did want to see the end of the races. They were incredible right up until the very end, the smell of burnt rubber lingered as did the electric atmosphere of victory. The buzz never faded and it hooked me on the races for life. I always wanted to feel so alive, so free._

 _I stood and admired the shining sapphire blue MK2 Escort, an iconic American muscle car. It was gorgeous. Running my fingers longingly across the perfect finish I almost sighed in appreciation. This car was incredible._

 _"It's far too easy to appreciate a fine body," Dom murmured in his husky voice._

 _"Far too easy," I agreed, my eyes still trained on the Escort._

 _"I wasn't talking about the car," Dom corrected me._

 _"Maybe I wasn't either," I replied raising my eyebrows at him._

 _Like he had been trying to do for the last four weeks he leant in to kiss me. This time I let him. Our lips met in what started off as a chaste and gentle kiss. As we deepened the kiss Dom moved us so I was leant against the cool metal of the car which bled through my top to my skin. It was freezing cold but I didn't notice it much beyond the initial few minutes. When we pulled apart we were breathless. He looked at me with this look. To this day I still can't place it but it was a look of adoration. Amazement. Lust. There was definitely lust in there. After we kissed he didn't sleep with another girl until I climbed into bed with him three months later, by that point I knew I loved him and he was going nowhere._

I awoke to tears staining my cheeks. What a memory to dream about. It hints at what we share when no one sees. Dom and I were more romantic than an initial meeting of us assumed. When we'd lived in 1327, a Sunday morning was spent in our bedroom, curled up in bed. It was our blissfully uninterrupted time together. I know downstairs they'd always thought we were having sex, not always true, but then again we'd never corrected them. Other times we just lay and talked or we just slept the morning away. On a rare occasion we'd look through old photo albums but usually that was approaching his Father's anniversary or his Mother's when he found things tough and retreated into himself for a few days. He always bounced back if I gave him enough space to grieve but not too much that he sank into a state of depression.

I'd slept two hours away. I passed up the opportunity for shitty aeroplane food and read my book. A frown creased my brow as I read. It was one of Mia's old books. A thriller but it didn't thrill me too much as I'd done more questionable things in my life than the main character of said story but it still peaked my interest enough that I read on.

Arriving in LA felt right. The second the plane touched down I felt like I'd done the right thing. Coming back here was the best decision I could have made. At least here he could always reach me. Here he could always call and talk to me. Back at 1327 I could heal.


	4. Chapter 3

**Letty's POV**

A taxi brought me to the door of 1327. I paid the driver and slid out. A smile crept across my face as it finally sunk in I was home. Home for as long as I wanted.

It occurred to me as I lifted my key from my bag that I really should've called Mia to tell her that I was coming home. Hell, she probably already knew Dom and I were currently residing in different places. No doubt he'd call her from a pay phone some place crazy because he always thought she worried about him more than I did. The truth was I probably worried about Dom more than Mia did, I was just a lot better at concealing it than she was.

Unlocking the door I stepped into the narrow hallway of the house I'd called home for the last nine years. I'd lived here since I was sixteen. In those nine years this place had barely changed. Maybe the pictures that hung on the wall but other than that the colour scheme never varied from cream coloured walls and plain carpets. Mia kept on top of the decorating of the house, Dom and I had never cared or rather had never thought to decorate. The latter was probably more true.

Gently I closed the door behind me and when I turned back to head up the stairs Mia appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. Her dark brown hair cascaded down her back in a long straight curtain. Though she wore little makeup and a plain sundress she looked beautiful. Mia never changed. When she realised it was me she grinned broadly. Ecstatic to see me home.

"Letty!" She cried and raced to hug me.

She flung herself at me almost knocking me over. I was five foot three and slight and Mia was five foot five and even slighter. However she had a racing start at me and the conscious decision to launch herself at me, I didn't.

"Hey girl, how you livin'?" I asked her as was my customary greeting.

"Good, you?"

"Good."

"What brings you home?"

I shrugged as if I hadn't decided when I knew it was obvious that it was because of Dom that I was home. Mia knew my pattern I always returned home when Dom and I went our separate ways. If not I floated back and forth across the Mexican border deciding what to do, doing whatever I felt like. When Dom and I were apart I was restless. I didn't know how to amuse myself so I did what I fancied acting on impulse.

With slight understanding Mia nodded. She didn't press for information instead she helped me take my stuff upstairs.

"Where have you been this last while?" Mia asked conversationally as we headed up the wooden staircase.

"I was in Mexico for a bit, catching up with family. Then I was in the DR with Dom for a bit."

"The DR is supposed to be incredible."

"Yeh, it was," I replied with a smile. All I could think about was the little church and the day we'd spent on the beach. It was the one place where we'd ever truly acted like a couple.

Mia grinned as she opened to door to Dom and I's bedroom. The room had obviously been cleaned. It smelt fresh, the faint smell of burnt rubber and grease long faded from the room. I shook my head at the room in front of me. It had been the best part of four years since we'd spent a night in this room together. There was no way I could let the best part of another four years pass me by before we spent a night together in this room. I needed to keep my ear to the ground for a way to bring Dom home.

"I just need to make up the bed for you, but it won't take me long." Mia clucked abefore she ducked around me, heading instantly for the bed.

For a second I stood there idiotically as memories flashed through my mind of all the nights we'd spent in this room making love until the early hours of the morning. Then Sunday mornings where we'd spent hours just talking and laughing in bed together. This room brought so much back to me.

Catching myself on I started helping Mia make the bed. We worked together. My side ended up being messier then the perfectly neat side she worked at but then again this wasn't my kind of thing. It was too domestic. I preferred being covered in grease with my sleeves rolled up to my elbows as I fiddled beneath the hood of a car.

After we were finished I stood up and stretched, stiff from being bent over and tired. As I stretched a pain ran across my right hip. The pain made me wince reminding me of the cut I'd gotten last night when swimming with Dom. It would probably leave yet another scar in my body. Oddly scars didn't bother me. In some ways they were like a map of my life written across my skin. The one on my wrist always reminded me of my first street race. That was the street race where Dom had lost control of his car and wiped out right next to me. I had been fifteen at the time. Another scar on my collar bone always brought to mind the memory of Mia and I, at sixteen years old, fleeing from Tran and his boys in Boyle Heights. In an attempt to escape I'd driven through a retainer wall. Downtown LA wasn't always the most pleasant place to be and parts of it were comprised of wooden structures. Anyway I had taken a chance assuming the wall to be a wooden one and so smashed through it. A bit of wood had shattered the windscreen and gotten lodged in my collar bone. Despite it being a cringeworthy get away of two amateurs the memory always made me laugh because it was so typical of me to do something so reckless.

"Let, you okay?" Mia asked me.

"Yeh."

"You winced. What's wrong?" Her dark eyes lit with concern for me.

"Nothing. I cut myself on a reef last night and when I stretched it hurt a little but it's nothing I promise."

Mia clicked her tongue and then rolled her eyes expressively. "I'll be the judge or whether or not it is nothing."

I pulled my top up slowly to expose my new cut and pulled my shorts down at the side. Mia raked her eyes over the cut then very gently touched it. Mia had nursing training so she knew what she was doing.

"It's a little red but it's not infected or anything as far as I can tell. You'll probably have another scar though." Her words were clipped, matter of fact but her slight smile told me she was not surprised in the slightest at me.

Shrugging I dismissed what was likely to be the next scar on my body. Who wanted to leave this world unadorned of scars? A perfectly preserved body didn't tell anyone anything about you. To me scars showed that a person had lived, been through their own personal battles and like a soldier had survived.

I emptied my dirty clothes into the washing basket which stood in my room and Mia looked on with amusement.

"Why don't you lie down for a bit and I'll make us dinner?" She suggested. Already she was mothering me like she always did when I returned home.

"I'm good til later, I might go do something," I replied.

Mia rolled her eyes again at me and I thudded off down the stairs. I barely noticed the kitchen as I hurried through it out the backdoor. Without Dom 1327 didn't feel like home. I was constantly restless and so had to keep going.

There was nothing out the back to do. Why did I bother coming out here? The garage caught my eye but I didn't know whether or not to go in. I took my key from my pocket and unlocked the door to Mr Toretto's old garage. Throwing the metal sheet door to the side roughly, it made a rolling clatter of a noise I'd always thought to be similar to thunder.

Light flooded into the garage through the opened door and my shadow was cast onto the damaged remains of Dom's old Dodger Charger. It was completely destroyed. I inched my way towards it nervously as though it were a living animal I didn't know how to approach. One side of it was completely smashed up. The chassis was completely twisted but then again that was the problem with this car, too much torque. The windscreen was smashed in and glass glittered on the interior of the car. I'd forgotten I'd refused to let anyone junk it. Maybe it was time to rebuild it. If Dom were to come home it would be best if his car were here for him. If Dom were to come home his car would have to be here for him.

I needed paper. I'd need to write a list of parts that I'd need. This was a big job for one person but I was capable. When Dom returned his car would be here for him. We'd always kept notebooks in the garage for scribbling lists in. I found one on the workbench with a pen stuffed into the wire binding of the book. The last person to write in the notebook was Jesse. His spiky scrawling writing covered the page, now spotted with dirt and dust. The black ink of the pen had faded slightly. For some reason seeing his handwriting, all angles and no curves scrawled across the page made me sad. It brought me back to a few nights after he had been killed.

 _Dom and I were lying in bed in some sleazy little hotel room which we'd rented to spend the night in. It was the first night we hadn't been travelling in a few days. Finally we weren't running. We were far away from LA, leaving the mess with Brian and the trucks behind. The one thing we couldn't leave behind was the death of Jesse. Jesse's death was never far from my thoughts nor Dom's. Brutally murdered on the front lawn of 1327, he'd been shot by Tran and Lance, it had been a terrible way to go. It broke Dom's heart to see his almost adopted son die and it broke my heart to know the boy I'd adopted in my heart as a brother was dead._

 _Dom took it really hard. It almost destroyed him as he believed he was guilty for Jesse's death._

 _"Let, I should've protected him. I was all he had," Dom mumbled in the darkness of the room. His voice was thick with tears._

 _"Dom, how could you know Tran was going to do that? No one could have ever guessed that Tran was going to do that. No one. Don't blame yourself," I begged him._

 _He turned to face me and in the darkness I could just about make out the tears that were rolling freely down Dom's cheeks. "But I should've given Tran another car. Made things right. Done something. Instead I went off and pulled that heist and left Jesse to deal with his own shit. I should've went after Jesse instead."_

 _I felt a tugging on my heartstrings as I felt the pain he was in but I didn't know how to ease it. There were no magical words I could say to make it all better but damn I'd try to think of some._

 _"Dom, you can't change the past. You did what you thought was best at the time. Maybe it didn't work out for a reason. Maybe Jesse wasn't supposed to run with us this time. He's probably looking down on us right now and laughing at us for mourning him so much."_

 _Dom chuckled slightly. "Yeh he wouldn't have enjoyed the life we're leading right now or the life that awaits me in prison."_

 _Lightly I slapped Dom on the chest. My silent way of telling him not to elaborate on his point. "Yeh the scrawny scrap wouldn't have survived this. Dom he's finally at peace. I don't have to yell at him about the constant stream of women or smack cigarettes out of his hand because he's chain smoking again."_

 _Dom nodded. "You know what the worst thing is though?"_

 _I shook my head and rolled onto my side to get a better view of his face in the darkness. "What?"_

 _"I didn't even get to go to his funeral. I didn't get to say goodbye to the kid properly, you know. I don't even get that sense of closure."_

 _I leant in and rested my forehead against his. "You'll find closure. We both will."_

 _Dom kissed me lightly and then ran his thumb along my bottom lip like he had at our last heist. "I love you Let."_

 _I couldn't say those words out loud so I replied as I always did in a way which sounded slightly ungrateful. "I know."_

 _Dom knew I couldn't say the words. I'd tried to say them a few times but had almost choked on them. I didn't wear my heart on my sleeve like he did so I found vocalising my feelings too hard. Besides those words carried a taint of past horrors that I preferred to forget. I preferred to show Dom I loved him rather than tell him._

Coming back to reality was a horrific shock to the system. I was still staring at Jesse's messy writing. Tears were swimming in the corners of my eyes but I blinked them away before flipping the page over in the notebook and starting to take stock of what parts I needed. Any sort of distraction would now be welcomed warmly.

I stayed out there until Mia called me for dinner. I'd rung Harry's to order parts and luck was shining down on me as my name still carried enough weight down there to convince Harry to rush the parts through for me and give me top quality stuff. It was even slightly discounted. Clearly he still had a lot of respect for Dom and I.

Inside the house I took my seat at the dinner table and Mia said grace. I'd forgotten about our ritual of saying grace. I guess we fell out of the habit of it when we'd been running from LA then we spent time apart and with people who embraced us in their lives as we passed by. It had been easier to follow their traditions than to ask them to follow ours.

Mia made idle conversation about what she did what with running the store and working as a nurse. Mia was busy. Her life full. She seemed happy enough. She talked about some of the girls she worked with. They seemed like good friends. Though I noticed not once did she mention Dom's name. It was as if he had ceased to exist. However I doubted Mia would deliberately avoid saying his name. Part of me knew she wanted me to enjoy my first night home and other things were more important to her at this point in time.

I helped her clear up. I hated sitting still so I helped Mia do the dishes. All I could think about were all the times I'd tried to help Mia do the dishes before when Dom would come in and distract me and I'd wind up flicking water at him. I needed to get a good grip on myself and stop thinking about him. Replaying memories was dangerous for my sanity. Remembering all those times we had shared together was bad. It was enough to drive any person crazy. The main reason it would drive you crazy was because you could focus on it too much and drift so far into the past that you lost sight of the present. Right now I needed to stop focusing on Dom and pour that energy into something productive. Thankfully I'd already decided to rebuild the charger. I could pour my energy into that. Maybe then I'd stop focusing on him.


	5. Chapter 4

**Letty's POV**

My resolve not to think about Dom broke about five hours later when I was climbing into our bed alone. This time it was maybe different. We were married now. Things shifted inside you when you got married even though all that had changed was a piece of paper which meant you were legally bound together. Rolling into the centre of the bed I laid my head in Dom's pillow. Damn I missed him. I slipped into an uneasy sleep tossing and turning. Too much was running though my mind. I couldn't settle myself properly to sleep. I missed him a lot.

In my dreams the memory of the first time I left Dom replayed.

 _We lay in bed, me half sleeping as he played with my hair lazily._

 _"Do you ever think about kids?" Dom mumbled. I don't think he realised I could hear him and that I wasn't fully asleep._

 _"Kids?" I asked as my eyes sprang open. I sat up and backed away from him. How could he be so stupid as to contemplate kids! Kids!_

 _"Yeh kids," he said with a slight smile._

 _"Dom it's all well and fine to have kids if you live a normal life. We don't live a normal life. Normal people don't almost get killed when fleeing from Tran. Normal people don't have an enemy like Tran. Normal people don't heist DVD players to make a few bucks. The majority of the world doesn't think about cars twenty four hours a day like we do. Come on Dom open your eyes!" I hated it when something like this came up in conversation. We weren't the kind of people who were made to be parents. We weren't stable enough. Our explosive rows would drive any child insane._

 _Dom's eyes fixed themselves on the ceiling and then he clammed up and said nothing._

 _"Maybe things have changed," he murmured._

 _"Kids were never a part of the plan!"_

 _"Not for you."_

 _"Is this a deal breaker?"_

 _Dom was silent and I got the message. I slid out of the bed and pulled on sweats and a tank top and my trainers._

 _"Goodbye Dom," I said as I stepped out into the silent hallway._

 _I headed out into the street. 2am was a bad time for a fight. It was dark and cold but I walked down the street anyway then jogged down it as my anger built bringing me into a run. I ran faster until the rain started. The rain was warm and ran down my arms and back. It was refreshing in its own way._

 _My hair was drenched and my sweats soaked by the time Dom caught up to me. He was dressed similarly to me. He grabbed me by the hand, forcing me to stop running from him. He spun me back towards him as we stood in the rain. I looked up at him through my eyelashes which had droplets of rain and my own tears on them. He pushed a wet strand of my hair off my face and tucked another behind my ear before using his free hand to tip my chin up towards him. The rain was still thudding off the pavement but in that moment all that existed was him and me._

 _"Let, it's not a deal breaker. It never was," Dom began, "You're all I want, you're all I'll ever want or need."_

 _"But you looked so sad when I blatantly refused you." I hated hurting him because I cared about him deeply. Even though I rarely vocalised it I loved him and hated to be the person who hurt him._

 _"I was just surprised is all. All I want is for you to be happy, trust me." His eyes widened and I knew he was telling me the truth._

 _I'd never been kissed in the rain before but he kissed me then, hard. Even after being together for four years we were still experiencing firsts. He kissed me slowly, his hand resting in the curve of my waist and the other tangled itself in my sopping wet hair. I cupped his cheek with one hand and wrapped my other arm around his neck. We were as close as we could get with not an inch of space between us. It was incredible._

I woke in the morning, stiff from not sleeping properly. Tear tracks stained my cheeks. For a few minutes I just lay there recovering from the brutal memory. Why that one? I was nineteen then. I wasn't mature enough for kids, it was just before we met Brian. At nineteen I hadn't been ready to discuss a future, at twenty four I still wasn't ready to discuss a future. It just wasn't me. I couldn't plan for tomorrow. I had to make it through today first.

When I rose late about eleven, Mia had gone to work. The note she'd left me told me she'd be home again round six and she'd make a dinner for us. I made a quick breakfast.

I made my way on foot to Harry's to pay for some of the parts. Most things wouldn't be arriving until tomorrow but I'd pay for portions of it now. In our room we'd had more money in wadded up in elastic bands and envelopes. It reminded me that I needed to look into the street races around here. See who raced and if they were any good.

Walking through the door of Harry's was incredibly nostalgic. The smell of tyres and grease greeted me. The blue tanks of NOS stood proudly on display like they always had in revolving glass cases. NOS used to be everything. Tanks of NOS used to be used in my car like nothing normal. It was all about the thrill back then, it was all about pure, simple adrenaline and American muscle. That was back before it all got complicated.

"Hey Letty," Harry said warmly from behind the counter. He had changed, his looks were a little older. His hair was beginning to fade from its jet black colour to a greyer shade. His eyes were wrinkled in the corners. He was pushing fifty and the years were already telling on him.

"Hey Harry! How you been man? Long time no see," I grinned at him as I leant over the counter. Happy as always to see him.

"I've been good. You?"

"Yeh good."

"Where you been these last few years kid?" He smiled fondly at me.

"Here and there floating back and forth across the boarder. Staying where it's sunniest," I cackled a laugh. I didn't want to be too specific.

He shook his head and laughed. Harry had always appreciated a good gossip like conversation. "So what more can I do for you Letty?"

"I'm here to pay for some of the stuff I ordered yesterday," I stated cooly. Hopefully I'd be able to knock another hundred off by offering to pay him in cash.

"Yeh total is two large," he said.

I inhaled deeply. I'd known this would be expensive. This was just the engine parts.

"I was thinking friends discount," I prompted as I lifted two large from my hip pocket. When he saw the cash at least fifty was about to drop off because then he didn't have to claim it all on taxes.

"Sorry Letty, already applied friends discount," he joked.

Sighing I quickly thumbed through the money checking I wouldn't be handing him more than necessary.

"Do you want some of the parts now? I've got them for you?"

"Yeh please. Plus I need this stuff," I said setting a long list down in front of him. Greed coloured his eyes and I realised there wasn't so much money in the racing game now. The kids weren't pouring in looking for parts and paying him gleefully with their hard won racing money. Now I needed to watch his bills carefully. I'd stick to paying him in cash but I'd be researching my purchases a little more whereas previously I'd never looked beyond Harry. Damn things were changing.

He typed it into the computer, modern when I'd last been in here but now it was dated. I rapped my fingers on the counter as I waited impatiently.

"Yeh I can get you all of those," he agreed.

"Thanks man, I appreciate it." I nodded stiffly, the sting of the realisation of his greed still running through my mind.

"You rebuilding a car or something?" He asked.

"Yeh a Charger."

"Dom's car? Where is Dom anyways?"

I shrugged. "Who knows where Dom is? Who ever knew where he was headed?"

I just replied with questions because God knew where he was and where he'd turn up next. I could get a text in a few days saying be in Puerto Rico, or be in Tokyo there's someone I want you to meet. Hell knew where he was or with who. All I knew for sure was he'd be in the drivers seat of a car and be happy because he was in the drivers seat of a car.

Harry gave me an estimate for the body parts which made me turn slightly pale. I would definitely need to go to a street race or two now.

Carrying some of the smaller stuff I left Harry's. Being back in LA was really strange when I'd been floating back and forth across the border I'd only been passing time in LA but I got the feeling I'd be here for an extended period of time this time.

"Hey Let!" A booming mans voice shouted after me.

I turned on my heel to find the owner of the voice. It was familiar. My eyes clapped onto Hector. He hadn't changed, he was still short and slightly on the plump side. A great grin was stretched wide across his face. Damn was he happy to see me.

"Hey Hector? How you been man?" I asked.

"Good," he replied as he approached me. "Yourself Let?"

"Busy. Leading a crazy life," I joked nudging him.

His eyes seemed to pierce through me as though he knew my good humour was fake. I was hiding behind walls and walls of defences because I didn't want anyone to know how much Dom leaving me had hurt me.

"I'd say. Those heists in Mexico and that one in the DR a couple days ago. Only could've been you and Dom," Hector said with a glimmer of a smile with admiration colouring his tone.

I smiled weakly and struggled to think of something to say. Rarely did I hold a conversation with Hector that wasn't about cars or mods or engines, I was running out of things to say.

"Street races still run?" I asked quickly. The words spilled from my lips before I had time to ponder them too carefully.

Hector nodded eagerly. "Yeh every Friday."

"Same place?"

"Yeh, you racing on Friday?"

"Hopefully. If my car arrives in time. Is the competition any good?"

Hector frowned and considered the racers these days. "Eh," he replied waving his hand uncertainly.

I nodded. Typical. The competition would likely only be average but it would work in my favour. Easy money.

"I'll see you there," I said as a means of getting away.

"Maybe. I'm on the NHRA circuit now. I've gone legit, so I don't frequent those races," he replied.

I nodded. "Understandable."

"See you around girl, don't be a stranger."

"I won't Hector," I said as I started to walk away.

Being back in LA was strange. It was amazing how the corners of this city held so much for me. Memories of the time we'd raced down this street, running every red light just because. Memories of the time we'd rallied up the floors of an indoor car park to escape cops, hanging out in the cars for hours until the sirens faded into tsilence. It was oddly comforting to recall things with such precision. Oddly comforting to be a part of this place and know it like I knew myself.

Back at the house I tore into the engine of the Charger. I stripped it back to the usable parts and used them as a framework to hang the new parts around. It made the job easier.

By the time Mia returned home I was sore from being bent over the engine but I'd accomplished something.

Thanks for reading guys! If you like it drop a review. It would mean the world to me!


	6. Chapter 5

**Mia's POV**

Letty had returned home as suddenly as she had vanished. Something in her had shifted. She seemed down, depressed. Something had happened between Dom and her in the DR. Whatever it was it was telling very plainly on Letty. She was anxious, restless, her foot tapping when she sat, her fingers rapping on tables. Even when we talked she seemed removed. Her eyes, once filled with fight, were now dulled with a pain she didn't seem to be able to vocalise or rather want to vocalise.

I came home from my twelve hour shift that Wednesday and stood for a second in the driveway, watching as she stood bent over the engine of that goddamn curse of a car. Her arms were spotted with grease and her hair was falling over her face. From what I could see of her face a sad smile rested on her lips like what she was doing was making her happy for the wrong reasons.

I headed into the house after a busy day on the wards. Carefully I made chips and steak. My mind was half lingering on Letty. What was going on with them? Normally when she returned home she'd natter about their most recent heist. I'd seen the news a couple of days ago and there had been a story about an oil tank explosion, immediately I'd known it had been them. Only they could pull off something on that scale and destroy the entire place doing it. Yet she hasn't mentioned it, barely breathed a word about the DR as if what had happened there couldn't ever be mentioned.

Heading to the open door I called for Letty. I didn't like going into the garage because it brought to mind far too many memories of my Father. I missed him still, even after nine years. Time doesn't exactly heal all wounds even though that's what everyone tells you.

 **Letty's POV**

Mia calling my name broke my focus. I sighed and tore myself away from my task. I was slightly surprised she was already home. It could hardly be six already.

Mia had dinner sitting on the dining room table and the smell of steak wafted towards me, inviting me in. We said Grace together before lapsing into a comfortable silence.

"How was work today?" I asked Mia.

Mia frowned and mused over her answer carefully. "Busy, like always. I'm kind of exhausted now." She seemed to ponder over something for a moment before asking, "What did you do today?"

"I went to Harry's paid for the parts I ordered, ordered some more. Met Hector on my way out, talked about street racing. He was saying they still run on Fridays in the same place."

"You for going on Friday?" Mia asked in mild interest as she raised an eyebrow at me.

I nodded. "Yeh my car will hopefully be here tomorrow."

"I'll come with you. I haven't been in a while," Mia insisted with a grin.

While Mia had never enjoyed being in the drivers seat to the same extent that the rest of us always had, she did love watching the races. Often we got her to hold the money for us or count it. I always felt like the main thing for Mia was seeing everyone else happy.

"Did you ever go without us?" I joked.

"Yeh a few times. The driving ain't as good as it once was though," she admitted as she started clearing up.

I helped her and as we did the dishes she turned to me. "You remember our first street race?"

"Yeh Dom wiped out right next to me," I nodded as I dried the dishes.

Mia shook her head as she recalled it. "You know, until it came to you Dom was always so cool."

I laughed, my husky laugh lingered in the air for a few seconds. Then I realised I wasn't entirely sure what Mia had meant. "How'd you mean?"

"Dom was so cool in school remember? He used to walk down the corridor and all eyes would wind up staring at him. Then that night as he pulled up to the racing line he saw this girl standing there. Probably the only girl there who wasn't throwing herself at him. Dom couldn't resist this girl especially when she smirked at him. You presented a challenge to him and he had to conquer it. He had to prove to himself that it was still possible for him to get any girl he wanted. Anyways he lost his focus and wiped out right next to the girl he had been trying to impress." Mia smirked on the last sentence. "I've never seen Dom so upset about hurting another person in his life."

Rolling my eyes, I nodded in agreement. Dom had apologised countless times for that night. I was stubborn and refused to listen to apologies time and time again so I often shut him up by ignoring him or kissing him.

"I did more than forgive him." I laughed as I thought about it. I'd ended up married to the guy who could have killed me, funny how it works sometimes.

"It used to be all about the cars," Mia said with a smile, "It's why all of you were so into it. It was all about American muscle and pure, simple adrenaline."

"It was simpler back then," I said.

We drifted into silence. I thought about the races whilst trying not to think about Dom and I at the races and our saying, "I live my life a quarter mile at a time." I'd gotten through every other time Dom had left me by not thinking about him and I'd spent the last two days thinking about him. Internally my resolve strengthened and I gathered my head together and decided not to think about him.

My resolve broke about three hours later when I went to our bedroom and everything in it reminded me of him. Maybe it was okay to grieve a little this time, I mean we were married now so it was different. Lying in the bed I cuddled his pillow and thought about all the things we'd been through together. I couldn't think of what I'd done that he'd want to leave me.

 _Our last day together had been the oil heist for the people of the DR. In some ways Dom saw himself as a Robin Hood type character, giving the people what they needed by taking from the those who had excess. I'd always admired that about him._

 _That heist had been an adrenaline rush entirely. Before I'd slid out the window of his Charger I had kissed him. I made a habit of kissing him before these things because you never knew how it was going to end up. I never wanted him to think I didn't care about him._

 _The second I'd slid out the window my focus had been on getting the tanks split up so we could get away. It had been a terrifying adrenaline fuelled experience that was etched into my memory._

 _A harsh jolt to the left made me lose my footing on top of the truck and I fell. Grappling wildly my fingers just latched onto the ladder on the next tanker and I gripped onto it with every ounce of strength I possessed. The metallic clink of my hammer rang in the air as it escaped from my belt. A sigh of relief coursed through me. I was just grateful that it hadn't been me._

 _I glanced to my right to see Dom driving beside me. His eyes were wide and had darkened in colour as he watched me holding onto the ladder. Quickly I found my balance and mentally prepared myself for the jump I was about to make. I needed to get back into his car. The last words snapped into the synced up earpieces had warned us we were running out of road. As far as I was concerned this was not going to be my last ever heist._

 _"Spray that hitch!" Dom ordered as he drove. His eyes flicked back between me and the road. His concentration split but I could see the desperation on his face to both pull off the heist and to keep me safe._

 _"l don't have a hammer!" I shouted over the noise of the truck and the roar of Dom's engine. Maybe he hadn't noticed._

 _"Just do it!" His hardened tone told me not to argue._

 _Without thinking in a blind panic I did as I was told. How was he expecting this to work? Even whatever was left of this spray wouldn't be enough to fully break the hitch between the tankers. However I knew by the look in Dom's eyes he had a plan. One he was certain was going to work._

 _"Hold on! Hold on!" His warning lingered heavily in the air._

 _"No shit!" I muttered under my breath. What else did he expect me to do?_

 _"Hold on to something tight!" Dom flicked the steering wheel one full turn in. The resounding clank of the metal of Dom's bonnet connecting with the hitch rang through the air. The hitch snapped cleanly. That couldn't have worked if we'd planned to do that._

 _"Letty! Give me your hand!" Dom shouted reaching his arm out the window. I stretched out my hand to grasp his hand but I was falling short. I simply couldn't reach far enough._

 _"l can't reach!" I told him in slight desperation. Maybe he'd pull closer._

 _"You got to jump!"_

 _The brakes of the truck screeched and Dom's car was soon sped far beyond me. I closed my eyes ready to pray for my salvation. For forgiveness for all that I'd done wrong in my life. When I opened my eyes again Dom was driving along beside the truck. This time determination was plain across his face._

 _"Jump! Letty, jump!" Dom's hand was stretched back out the window. Drawing one sharp breath I prepared myself again to jump. "I've got you!" His promise was the push I needed to jump. I knew he'd be there when I jumped now. I'd be safe. Perfectly safe if I just trusted myself enough to jump._

 _I jumped and Dom's hand grasped mine tightly. I landed on the bonnet of his car with a bang. Pain radiated through my chest but adrenaline allowed me to ignore it well. With my right hand I started grasping for the open window on the passengers side. With my hand tightly gripped onto the windscreen pillar I pulled myself into the car. Falling into the seat I sat back. We were running out of road._

 _Behind us I caught sight of the gas truck rolling downwards. It was engulfed with flames heading straight for us. Even though it was far enough away not to inspire panic when Dom turned the car around so we were facing it I found it hard not to panic. Especially when all Dom did was rev so the back end of the car swung wildly from side to side. He wasn't really going to drive straight for it, was he? After everything else he'd done today I had to admit it wouldn't have surprised me._

 _"Dom. . ." I began cautiously. I was met with a concentrated silence as he continued to rev._

 _"Dom?" I queried slightly anxious that he didn't know what he was doing. Was he trying to kill me? Us?_

 _Panic engulfed me as he continued to ignore me. My heart was thudding in my chest. I was going to die today!_

 _"Dom!" I yelled._

 _My sudden shout startled Dom into action and he drove straight for the flaming tanker. Swiftly he drove under it and despite being slightly anxious I was forced to admire his precision. If he'd been a moment earlier or later we would have been goners._

 _Dom stopped the car to watch as the tanker rolled over the side of the cliff. Again I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths to steady myself. Relief was coursing through me. I was just lucky to be alive. We were lucky to be alive. Adrenaline had pulled us through that heist emphasising to me that if we could make it through that we could make it through anything._


	7. Chapter 6

**Letty's POV**

I woke in the morning with the dried tracks of tears sticky on my cheeks. Our last day together wasn't anyone's idea of a romantic honeymoon but it was perfect for us. We spent the day together doing what we did best in something that we loved the most, a fast car. For us there was no better way to pass a day.

Rolling out of bed I realised it was early in the morning. No matter though. I showered and dressed. I quickly made toast and ate it as I stood in the kitchen watching as the first rays of sunshine touched the pavement. It was only after six in the morning. I tied my hair up in a messy ponytail and headed out into the garage.

The only time my concentration was broken from my work was when my car arrived after two. Seeing my car made me smile like I'd gone insane. My baby was finally parked in the driveway. My eyes raked over it checking for scratches and dinges. There were none. I paid the guy and signed off on it as was their policy.

For a few minutes I was enthralled by having my car back. I'd only been without it a couple of days but I'd really missed my baby. Running my fingers over the perfect finish on the car and its glossy paintwork I was itching to go for a drive. To be seen in this car. Even if the car scene wasn't what it used to be, it didn't matter, I could probably bring the scene back to what it was if I tried. Maybe I'd do that. It would give me a purpose here. If I raced well and showed everyone how it was done then it would inspire others to do that same or up the ante and prevent people getting complacent.

I turned back to my work. I made myself work through to dinner. The idea of Dom's car being here when he came home pushed me onwards. Though it also presented me with a problem, how was I to bring Dom home? That was a problem I didn't yet possess an answer to.

Friday night rolled in quickly. I threw on skinny black black and a tank top paired with combat boots and a cropped red bikers jacket Dom had bought me years ago because I was always stealing his. I persuaded Mia to come with me just like she used to. With a feigned reluctance she agreed and dressed in jeans and a hoodie, warning me I'd be freezing later on.

Ten o clock hit and in the cover of as much darkness as the well lit streets of LA could allow, the racers assembled. I climbed out of my car and scanned my eyes across the sea of imports. In a crowd of what I imagined to be somewhere in the region of seventy cars I could pick out four muscle cars.

It wasn't until I pulled my attention away from the cars that I realised eyes were on me. An unsettling silence settled over those closest to me as they ceased with their conversation. Then as if all at once they started mumbling and the words, "It's Letty Ortiz! She's back!" Soon resounded in the air. Mia and I watched in amusement as some of the racer chasers dispersed to find more of their own kind to pass along the gossip that Letty Ortiz, the Letty Ortiz, was back in LA and was immersing herself back into the car scene.

It wasn't long until I was challenged to a race by a cocky little runt of a boy. He looked about my age, twenty five, but he was arrogant, conceited which in my books detracted from any skill he had in the car. Arrogance never won anyone a race.

"So she returns," the guy announced to the crowd. Clearly he had assumed Dom's throne when we'd fled LA almost five years ago.

I scoffed. I was not impressed by his swagger like the rest of the crowd.

"Not impressed? Wait til you see my car," he said as he gestured towards a beautifully kept Mazda. It was quite similar to the one which Dom had had a couple of years back. A newer model but it was apparent to me that this guy thought he was Dominic Toretto. Nothing more than a wannabe.

I smirked as I thought of the line we'd stated many times in the last nine years. "You know, everyone happens to know a few things and one of the things we knows is, it's not how you stand by your car, it's how you race your car." The words spilled out dripping with sarcasm.

A gasp tore through the crowd. Clearly no one ever challenged this guy.

"You against me, three large." His arrogance dared me to contradict him.

A grin crossed my face. This should be interesting. He was throwing down a large sum to a racer he'd never seen race. If I accepted I'd be doing the same thing. This was a risky one. For all I knew he was a terrific driver but from Hector's reaction to my questioning about the competition only two days previously I knew the competition wasn't up to much.

"Alright then," I agreed.

I handed my money to Mia who held it for me. Surprisingly he also handed his money to Mia. Though I supposed Mia had a trustworthy look about her. He probably implicitly trusted the look in her face or was drawn in by her looks.

Carefully I climbed back into my Plymouth. Wriggling I made myself comfortable in the seat before clipping on my five point harness. You can't race if you're not comfortable. Like I always had done I muttered to myself, "You got this girl." It was something Leon had always repeated to us, "Visualise you'll win." He always claimed it was half the battle. My golden rule of racing stuck firmly in my mind, "Never look in your rearview mirror." It was a rule that applied to racing and life. You can't focus on what's behind you if you're trying to go forwards. However it was an easy rule to forget when you were mourning the loss of something incredibly special to you.

I pulled up to the starting line and glanced to my left to see the boy cockily sitting with his hands on the steering wheel at five and seven on the steering wheel. I sat with my hands at ten and two because it gave me the best grip on the wheel if I had to swerve. Already I could tell the legacy Dom and I had left with our driving had been forgotten by these people. They didn't remember how well we knew these streets. How we were the ones who had broadened the scene and attracted the crowds. How were were the ones who set the standard and maintained it for three years. Hopefully my return would remind them of everything we had forged here.

Revving twice the boy startled me slightly. I turned my attention back to the road before me and twisted my hands on the steering wheel. In retaliation I revved back. He wasn't going to intimidate me. He didn't intimidate me, I was Letty Toretto and I was a damn good driver. The best chick to ever race the streets of LA.

We were racing a straight mile into the desert. It was a straight race. There was no room to hide poor control of a car or hesitation. To win this a driver didn't have to be skilled. They just had to floor it and not fry their piston rings. NOS would be the friend of any driver on this plain stretch.

One of the skimpily dressed racer chasers stepped into the middle of the track. Her short skirt blew slightly in the night breeze and she pointed first at me and then at the boy. She dropped her arms and we streaked out into the desert.

Initially we were level pegging. He wasn't a bad driver. He was arrogant and it worked in my favour. It meant he was cocky. He lacked the single minded focus needed to be an amazing driver. I kept my eyes fixed firmly before me. We were a half mile in when he pushed his NOS button. His mistake made me smirk.

"Too soon man. Too soon." I mumbled as a smug smirk touched my lips.

When I saw his speed easing off again I pushed my NOS button and the sudden speed of my car jolted me backwards in the seat proving even after these last ten years I wasn't used to the initial feeling of NOS. There is nothing quite like the exhilarating effect of NOS on a car.

I was across the finish line before him. I had beat him straight up with no foul play just pure simple talent and more experience than him. As my finale I performed a perfect u turn at my current speed and controlled with with my usual precision. It was hard to resist showing off.

The assembled crowd cheered and Mia handed me my money. I was up three grand. That was a good feeling. Something about winning the money was always amazing. Especially the way it warmed your hand. It wasn't the hardest earned cash in the world but it felt like it was sometimes.

"Congratulations Let," Mia said with a grin.

"Thanks girl," I said with a smirk touching my cheeks.

A strong hand clapped me on the back. At once I knew it was Hector.

"You showed them how it's done." He chuckled.

"I always did." I agreed boastfully. I knew I was good but I hadn't yet met my match but I'd met my better; Dom.

Hector nodded and folded his tattooed arms. Amusement was written across his face with the way his smile turned up at one corner and his eyes crinkled at the edges.

I was challenged to a three more races. I accepted the challenge each time and won them all. I was ten grand in all richer from the races. It was exhilarating to know that I was still a good enough driver to blow the competition away.

"Dom always said there was no driver quite like you," Hector remarked as we stood on the sidelines watching a couple of newcomers to the scene show off their stuff.

"Yeh?" I prompted. I wanted him to tell me more.

Hector nodded. "He always said he was nervous of going one on one against you. He knew you'd beat him straight up."

I scoffed. "Naw man, he'd win that one. He still has the edge."

Hector shrugged. "Not sure about that one Let, I'm pretty sure you're evenly matched."

"I'm pretty sure it would be the closest race the streets of LA would ever see," Mia added to our conversation.

I shrugged. "Maybe one day we'll see that race."

"I'd pay to see it," Hector replied. "I'd like to bet on it and if I did all my money would be on you."

"I'd bet on it as well." Mia grinned as she spoke. I knew she'd bet on Dom though.

A conversation a couple of boys in their late teens were having next to us caught my attention.

"Yeh Braga," one of them muttered to the other.

"What's he want with racers?" The other asked anxiously.

"Dude, he pays you to haul stuff for him," the first guy replied. He ran his hands through his blonde hair. For a second I thought he was Brian but he wasn't.

Intently I eavesdropped on the conversation trying to glean a little more from them but from the sounds of it this Braga guy was a drug dealer or something. He was clever though, use racers to haul his product. If you used real racers there was less room for error and the job would be done right. It was interesting if nothing else. Nothing more of what they said interested me. The first guy was simply trying to persuade the anxious boy to compete in a race for a place in the cartel.

Three in the morning rolled in without warning and Mia and I took off. We weren't the last to leave but we were among the last. The crowd had dwindled rapidly after two but we'd lingered chatting to guys about their cars. It was nothing like the old days where leaving at three was considered a cardinal sin because the night was only half over.

As I climbed into bed the heavy smell of burnt rubber and diesel caught in my throat. That had always been the thing about the races, the smell stuck with you for a few days. Burying myself beneath the duvet I let my eyes slide closed. Memories of LA bubbled to the surface and all the crazy things we had done here flashed behind my closed eyelids. The races tonight had reminded me even more of Vince, Jesse and Leon. Our heists together replayed as though on loop in my mind.

 _I took the left side whilst Leon took the right with Jesse in beside him. I preferred to ride alone as the guys had a tendency to wince every time I touched my clutch because it wasn't how they'd do it. Dom was in front and from the last quick words muttered into the walkie talkie, Vince was in the truck._

 _"Roads narrowing guys," Dom told us. His tone was sharp, controlled, cautionary. Everything had to run smoothly tonight. There was no room for error._

 _Aw shit I thought as I realised I was going to either have to stop at the road works blockades, smash through them, most likely ruining my car, or go left under the truck and pray I didn't get killed. Only one slightly nerve wracking option was going to make the heist run smoothly. I'd have to go under the truck._

 _Drawing one sharp breath I cued myself alongside the gap between the wheels of the truck hoping that their speed remained constant before flicking the steering wheel in close to one full turn to my right. Beneath the truck it was darker, the only real light being emitted from the distinctive neon green glow beneath the chassis of my Civic. Quickly I straightened up and watched my speed and prayed that I wouldn't hear a sickening crunch of metal._

 _"Where'd Letty go?" Dom's crackled voice sounded from the walkie talkie._

 _"I'm right here," I replied, feeling a relieved smile cross my face. Cold sweat clung to the back of my neck as I realised I had done it. Survived it._

 _"Where?" Confusion tainted his words._

 _"Beneath the truck."_

 _Curse words sounded loudly and I ignored him because there was little he could say because I was still alive and ready for more._

 _When I saw the road widening I prepared myself to pull the car out towards the left again so I'd be back in position. Flicking the steering wheel almost another full turn left I resumed my place on the left side of the road._

 _"Right everyone split!"_

 _We took our orders and split up to bring the cars back to their safe position where our everyday cars were parked. I pulled in to park the Civic. Climbing out of it I headed straight for my Nissan 240SX. Dom gave me a look which warned me I was in for it later. I ignored him and called bye over my shoulder and slid into the comfort of my racing car._

 _I'd headed into the garage the next morning expecting for Dom to have cooled off and everything to be fine but he was nowhere to be seen. Ignoring my newly found anxiety I threw myself into the Escort I was supposed to be tuning up. Dom and I hadn't spoken at all today, something of a record for us as usually we spoke every morning before we left the house. However with the heisting last night I'd overslept so I'd missed him. The unsettling feeling of worry engulfed me as I realised this was a first for us, he was really pissed at me about last night._

 _Round lunchtime I took myself off to the store with the boys to get lunch and talk to Mia about what I could say to fix things. As I pulled up to the shop I noticed his car was parked here. I could bet he was holed up in_ _the back in a foul temper like he always was when we disagreed over something._

 _I pretended to feel secure as I walked across the shop floor but I was trembling inside._

 _"Hey girl, how you livin'?" I asked Mia as I walked past her._

 _Vince plonked himself down beside the blonde guy who'd taken to haunting the place the last two weeks and grabbing a tuna sandwich for lunch every day._

 _"Hey Dom, you want a soda?" I asked him._

 _He didn't reply instead waved his can of Diet Coke at me. I sighed and wandered round the shop not knowing what to do. A fight broke out outside and soon Mia and I were yelling at Dom to sort it out. When Dom came back in he still looked tense and angry._

 _"Hey Dom, let's go for a drive?" I suggested._

 _Reluctantly he nodded and we headed out to my car. I got in the drivers seat and for almost ten minutes we didn't speak._

 _"Dom why are you so mad?" I asked him. I wanted him to tell me why me driving beneath the truck had been such a sore point with him when it was obvious I was okay._

 _"Because you could have been hurt last night," he said._

 _"But I wasn't."_

 _"I've never feared for your life like it. Let, I love you and couldn't stand to see anything bad happen to you."_

 _I felt myself crumble and I apologised. It was humbling to apologise for something that you'd never really thought of until you saw the person you cared most about looking so hurt._

 _"Pull over," Dom said as by now we were on the outskirts of town. "I'll drive."_

 _As he drove I wound up curled up in his lap, kissing him. He barely paid attention to the road as he drove us back into town._


	8. Chapter 7

**Letty's POV**

I awoke the next morning to my head absolutely swimming. My heart was broken. Why was it LA was bringing all these stupid memories and feelings back to me? Even if it had to remind me of things why couldn't they be good things?

Rolling lazily out of bed I headed downstairs. It was quite late in the morning. I'd discovered during the week that Mia worked Monday to Wednesday's solidly. Doing three twelve hour days back to back and then took the rest of the week off. Whatever floats your boat I guess. Mia was nowhere to be seen so I assumed she was either out or in her bed.

Pottering around I started rummaging in the cupboards. I was bored and tired. My concentration levels weren't high enough to work on the engine for the Charger. I needed something to distract me however. I was a restless being.

In the living room Mia had cleared out the panelled dresser, one of the first things her Mother and bought for the house. It was a junk cupboard but she'd tidied it up. I knew we threw the photos we couldn't put up on our already cluttered walls in there. I shifted through the photo albums. Maybe time alone with my memories of LA would help push me into the present, there was a reason my mind kept bringing me back. There were probably demons lurking in the shadows of my mind that had to be put to rest so I could begin to enjoy the present.

One photo album with a soft red leather bound cover turned out to be the one I needed to see the most. Grabbing myself a Coronas I took myself outside to sit at the splintering picnic table to flip through the album.

The album seemed to be dedicated to Dom and I. The story of our ride or die romance was splattered across the pages. Well the legal parts. The illegal dealings were rightly ignored. Illegal dealings could hardly be documented. As I sipped at my Coronas I flipped through the pages entranced by the pictures. Our first awkward photos were taken together when I was fifteen and Dom was eighteen. Self consciously posed for photos before street races or at Christmas or on a birthday. A lapse of two years followed those photos accounting for Dom's stint in Lompoc. After his return the photos stopped being so self conscious and more relaxed as we became more and more familiar with each other. Ones which caught my eyes were taken at the eighteenth birthday Mia had cajoled me in to. I'd reluctantly agreed to it if it stayed a small thing.

 _"Oh Letty, you look beautiful," Mia chirped as she finished applying powdery makeup to my face._

 _With a sudden fear of what she'd been doing to me when my eyes had been closed I cautiously glanced into the mirror. I looked so unlike me. My usual jeans and tank top had been replaced by a white dress which clung to my upper body emphasising my curves and flared out at the waist. My hair, usually piled up in a plain ponytail, was styled slightly half up and half down. My make up was immaculate when normally I didn't bother. I looked like a girl._

 _"I don't even look like me," I mumbled. I couldn't believe it. My fingers itched for a wipe to take some of the makeup off. To lighten my makeup even. It was really dark in the corners. It was so foreign to me that I could barely tolerate it._

 _"You look incredible Letty," Mia murmured. Her words rang with sincerity and conviction. It was obvious she didn't want me to take the makeup off or the dress. She knew I wouldn't disrespect her like that though._

 _"Thanks Mi," I said as I stood up. My feet already hurt in the black peep toe ankle boots which Mia had bought me._

 _With uncertainty and mounting anticipation I began my descent of the stairs. My heart was thudding slightly in my chest and my palms sticky. The boys would most likely have some smart comments to make about my appearance._

 _I made my way through to the living room where the easy chatter fell silent. All eyes turned to me and Dom smiled broadly at my transformation. He'd always said he didn't want a racer chaser but when he saw me in that dress the lustful look in his eyes told me he definitely liked the girly girl look. It was idea for when we were alone together, gotta keep it exciting somehow._

 _"Now if you got a rear like that why not show it off more?" Vince joked._

 _Rolling my eyes I dismissed his comment._

 _"You seen Letty anywhere?" Leon joked, "You look real like her but she wouldn't be caught dead looking like that."_

 _"Like what?" I retorted. This was going to be disastrous._

 _"All girly."_

 _With a grimace I was forced to agree. I'd known they wouldn't be too impressed with the girly girl look._

 _Jesse patted me sympathetically on the arm. He understood how close Mia and I were and how important it was to me that I didn't hurt her feelings. Now he was trying not to hurt me with his words because he saw the effort I was making for the little mother of our family._

 _Mia insisted on pictures. Many pictures. My favourite wound up being one of Dom and I stood in the doorway of the living room, not even paying attention to the small party. We were simply stood there holding hands in the doorway and looking up into each other's eyes. His right hand was cupping my cheek, his thumb rested on my lips. We were looking at each other with that look, that look which said I'd do anything for you._

My eyes lingered on the picture. Simply romantic. We weren't often that clingy in front of people but we'd obviously forgotten about everything that night and decided to be just Dom and Letty.

Other photos were stacked into the album in a chronological order. You could see the subtle changes in us as we'd gotten older. The album only ran up until I turned twenty. It only documented five years of our time together, well three if you removed Dom's time in Lompoc.

Amongst the last photos you could see where Brian became an important part of our lives. The blonde Ken Barbie doll looking man stood out like a sore thumb when thrown in amongst a group of grease monkeys but he blended in well with the model looking Mia.

In one photo he was stood at the edge of our group on the far side of Dom. Dom had his arm slung around my waist and Mia was on the other side of me. The boys were on Mia's other side. That was just before everything got a little fucked up. That was when our lives were easy, pleasant and our biggest problem was our adrenaline fuelled addiction to the heists.

I will always admit that the heists were exhilarating. Exhilarating to know that we could get away with that sort of thing and use the money to modify our cars. The security it brought to me was amazing. After two years of struggling to make ends meet having money to wave around freely was an incredible rush and sadly the novelty never wore off.

The last photo in the album was taken the night of our last barbecue in 1327. I was perched on Dom's lap with one arm tucked snugly around his neck, the chunky silver bangle on my other wrist glinting slightly in the candle light. Our faces were close together and both of us were smiling widely. One of his hands was reaching into the centre of the table for something. We most likely had no clue that photo was being taken otherwise we wouldn't have stayed so cuddly.

Wiping my eyes which had started to get watery from spending too long wrapped up in old times, I stood up. I tucked the photo album below my arm. I was going to ask Mia if I could have it. Even though it was probably incredibly dangerous to my sanity.

"Hey Mia!" I called as I walked through the house.

"Yeh?" She shouted back. Her voice echoed from the hallway.

As I stood in the narrow hallway I realised she would be leaning over the bannister at the top of the stairs looking down on me as was typical of her.

"Can I have this?" I asked waving the photo album at her.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she studied the cover. "Course you can. I was going to give it to you two anyway."

"Thanks Mia," I said with a smile.

I bounded up the stairs to put the photo album in a drawer in our bedroom. Yanking one of my drawers open I placed the soft leather book on top of a couple of pairs of denim shorts that I only sometimes wore. Here it would be close to hand if I ever wanted it but far enough away that it wouldn't be constantly on display if I opened a drawer. As long as it was hidden there my pretence of being fine could never be questioned.


	9. Chapter 8

**Letty's POV**

The following Friday brought me back to the races. This time better prepared. I'd spent all week rebuilding the Charger and was proud of myself. The engine was finished. The body work which I was going to kick into on Monday was going to be the killer. However tonight I planned on getting drunk at some party, coming home and passing out in a heap in my bed and sleeping the whole day through tomorrow.

I raced a couple of times and won some more money. However tonight I was more readily integrated back into the circles of racers. I was well respected for my skills which were well practiced and polished after the last ten years of racing, the majority of said years had been spent on the streets of LA.

I was drawn into easy conversation. A lot of it merely idle gossip and chit chat centred around the cars. It was easy to carry on with no silences as everyone understood each other well. It wasn't until Braga's name from last week cropped up again that my ears really pricked up and I gave the conversation my undivided attention.

"You ever get asked to run for Braga?" A guy called Mitchell asked me with a slight frown.

"No," I replied carefully. I leant back against my car in an attempt to look casual and see if I could glean any more information from him.

"That's surprising," he said, "You're exactly what Braga's looking for."

I tipped my head slightly to the side showing interest but feigning stupidity. It was the easiest way to get someone to tell you more. It was something I'd learned from my time on the streets.

"What does Braga need a good driver for?" I asked.

"Don't you know about Braga?" A racer chaser interrupted.

I shook my head slightly and looked over at the blonde dressed skimpily in a short skirt and low cut top.

"Braga runs a cartel," the girl said importantly. "He makes the racers audition before he runs them."

"And what do said racers get in return for running for him?" I asked.

"They get paid well, I believe," Mitchell added, cutting the bimbo off. "They haul drugs for him, he pays them."

I nodded. "Braga ain't too good at keeping secrets. There's bound to be all sorts after him if everyone knows all this about him."

"FBI are mad to catch him."

"The FBI is shit man, they couldn't catch a fly even if it landed right between their eyes.

Mitchell laughed at my sarcastic and only half true remark. The reason I say half true is because really Dom and I should've been caught many times over but fortunately hadn't. Really I probably should have been wanted for aiding and abetting criminal activity but clearly the cops and the FBI were content to ignore my role in shady dealings, preferring to turn all of the heat onto Dom. Women are always underestimated.

The races started breaking up round one and everyone began heading to a party. Mia and I left my car home and walked two blocks to the party. If I was going to drink, I wouldn't drive. I wouldn't risk her life, I'd risk my own but not Mia's.

At the party I drank a lot. Usually I didn't overindulge but it was hard to resist. I started into the Coronas and then mixed it up with some vodka. After that it just got blurry.

I woke the next morning in my bed fully dressed from last night. The smell of vodka and beer lingered in the room. Disgusting. That was the worst thing about drinking, the smell remained. I lay there with my eyes half closed against the sunlight which was creeping in through the partially drawn blinds. The slight light was burning my eyes.

Eventually I got bored of moping and feeling sorry for myself so I rose. I bundled my hair up in a messy twist and put on sunglasses to protect my eyes and stop my already throbbing headache getting worse. I pulled on one of Dom's t shirts which fell to my mind thigh. He'd always joked it was sexy when I wore his clothes.

Heading down the stairs, my first pit stop was the kitchen where the noise of the ancient kettle boiling practically shook me where I stood. Coffee. I needed coffee and I needed it now. Once the kettle was boiled I made instant coffee and sat outside to drink it. Relaxing in the sun made me feel slightly better. The coffee shifted the worst of my headache but my stomach was twisting too much to eat.

As I sat there I mulled over everything I'd heard about Braga. He was an intriguing enigma to me. He used street racers to run his merchandise. I needed to unearth more about him. His entrepreneurial skills were something I could perhaps use to my advantage. If the FBI were after him that meant that he was in top dollar. If I got inside then I could use my position in the cartel to learn more about him and feed it back to the FBI. In exchange for me violating the principle I held close of not tattling on those who got away with bending the law, they could wipe Dom's record. Yet I had one final problem to solve. How did I get the FBI to take my offer seriously? I was no better than a common criminal, well I was one. They'd hardly listen to me.

Sipping my now stone cold coffee, my thought process clouded up. I couldn't focus properly. I needed to write shit down. Despite having formulated a plan I'd hit a mental roadblock for now.

It wasn't until late afternoon when I was out working on Dom's charger that it struck me. The answer was so obvious. Brian. I was going to have to pay Brian O'Connor a visit. He shouldn't be too hard to find. Maybe he wasn't even in LA anymore. I'd have to do a bit of digging.

That night I headed up to bed and flipped through the photo album once more. That album was similar to a drug, highly addictive and even when I swore I wouldn't open it again I always did. There was something soothing to know every good memories was splattered across the pages. That the good memories would live on in photos.

That night I dreamt about our last night together in the DR. The cut on my hip was now knitting over into a scar.

I'd really taken an urge to go for a night swim. A night swim. Crazy.

 _We'd just returned from pulling off our biggest heist ever. Two days after our wedding. Our first heist as man and wife. Not the romantic honeymoon everyone dreams of but it was perfect for us._

 _"Let's go for a night swim," I suggested to Dom as the sight of the sea met my vision and I smiled at it. It looked so inviting, the rolling waves and the deep blue colour. I loved it. The slight breeze blew some of the shorter strands of my hair into my face. The smell of the sea salt lingered in the air. Perfectly beautiful._

 _"It's dark." Ironically Dom was the voice of reason in this situation. Usually he urged the insanity to continue, now he was discouraging it._

 _"C'mon Dom, you ain't scared are you?" Yanking my top off over my head I tossed it in the back seat of the car and tugged my jeans off dumping them on top of my tank top. I took the necklace off and set it on top of my jeans and tank top. An even crazier notion struck me, an idea that would have Dom chasing me straight into the water. I'd skinny dip._

 _I looked at the slight drop into the sea, I could have jumped it but I saw Dom's eyes grow wide as he realised what I was thinking or intending to do just straight out._

 _I carefully made my way down the eight or nine steps to the beach and stood on the edge of the sea for a second before dipping one toe. It was a nice temperature, not too cold and not too warm. I unhooked my bra and abandoned it on the damp sand along with my pants. Then I took the plunge wading in and finally swimming. I swam and I realised soon that Dom was behind me. He swam beside me. To our credit we stayed close to the edge just in case but it was relaxing with just the moonlight shining down on us. Everything was tinged with that romantic glow all honeymoons should be coloured with._

 _Whilst I treaded the water I splashed some up at him and took off in the opposite direction, towards the reef. A sharp tug on my right hip made me gasp and look down. I glanced down at my hip to see it and rubbed my fingers over it feeling the sticky feel of blood beneath my fingertips. Lifting my hand out of the water I frowned, I'd never considered that the reef would be that sharp and would actually tear my skin. Dom must have saw my shocked face in the moonlight as I continued treading water but I carried on staring at my scarlet fingertips. Dom paused beside me and took my hand in his and examined my fingers._

 _"Where did you cut yourself?" He asked. He sounded slightly out of breath._

 _"On the reef," I murmured._

 _Dom nodded and ran his hand down onto my hip. He motioned for me to start swimming back to shore and as he turned he winced in pain and I realised he too had cut himself on the reef._

 _Back on dry land I noticed that my hip was bleeding quite a lot and the cut was quite long on my hip. I pulled my underwear on, the blood soon stained the fabric._

 _Dom hurried me up into the house. Where he absolutely had to get tending to my cut with hot water and salt. It was to sterilise the cut and ensure I wouldn't get infections._

 _"Why do you always flap more than me about stuff like that?" I asked, raising one eyebrow as I lay on my side on the bed waiting for him to stop._

 _"Because I don't like to see you hurt." He leant in and kissed me rolling me into my back and I pulled him down on top of me wrapping my arms tightly around his neck. He broke the kiss and I buried my face into his neck, breathing in his unique smell of rubber, grease, his musky aftershave which I loved and now the smell of the sea. A weird combination but it smelt like home. He was my home._

I woke to my heart thudding slightly in my chest. That was why 1327 didn't feel entirely like home to me anymore, it was because Dom wasn't here. It had taken me twenty four years to realise it but home wasn't just a house that you lived in, home was the place where you felt safest. Home was the place where you were surrounded by the people you loved most. Dom was my home, he was the person I loved most. When I was with him I felt safest. Next to him I felt secure, he made me feel protected even in the most dangerous of situations. Home isn't just a building its the feeling that you carry with you when you're with those you love most.

Rising that day was easy. My incentive was stronger than ever to bring Dom home. The desire I had to rebuild his car saw me sprawled beneath it for the best part of the next fortnight rebuilding it. Every night I walked back into the house with grease staining my overalls. My hair which I pulled up was always half escaped from its ponytail as I had forgotten it due to my increasing distraction of the car. The dirt seemed to cling to every exposed surface of skin, my face, hands and wrists, dying the water an inky black as I washed my hands. For those two weeks I almost forgot to enquire about Brian and his whereabouts. Almost forgot.


	10. Chapter 9

**Brian's POV**

A knock on my door distracted me from case notes and folders which I'd spread across my coffee table. Quickly I bundled them up, hiding the details of the cases in pale yellow folders and shoved them under a stack of magazines. Glancing at the clock it read eleven. It was too late for most visitors.

The knock sounded again. This time impatient. The quick rap of knuckles on wood echoed slightly through the apartment. Whoever it was was anxious to speak to me.

Cautiously I opened the door the slightest crack. My eyes widened when I saw Letty Ortiz stood there. Her arms were now folded and her left foot tapped on the carpeted floor. Impatience oozed from her every pore. If it wasn't for the fact I knew she'd noticed I'd opened the door a slither I'd have closed the door again and hid.

I hadn't seen her in almost five years. The last time I'd saw her she'd been bundled up in the back of Leon's Civic with her lip bleeding and her eyes unreadable. Not long after she'd been fleeing through Mexico to get away from me. Now she stood at my door. The cowardly part of me wanted to dive beneath a table or barricade the door. However from what I knew of Letty if she wanted to hurt me she'd already have done so.

Unchaining the door I opened it wide. It was then I saw the depleted character of Letty Ortiz. Now she was up close I could see desperation written across her face. She seemed like she'd been through a lot and I wanted to ask her what had happened.

"Brian," she breathed. Her eyes widened as she took in every detail of my face. Her intense gaze drank in every detail of my face looking for changes.

"Do you want to come in?" I asked nervously, gesturing into my humble abode.

She nodded and stepped in. For a few minutes she restlessly paced around the coffee table. Curiosity wanted me to ask outright why she was here. What I could do for her? Though I was certain she was about to tell me.

Whilst she moved around I made us tea. I still remembered how she took hers, a drop of milk and no sugar. I brought her a cup over along with my own and we placed them on the coffee table. Inelegantly as she always had she plopped herself onto the sofa. She sat on the edge of the sofa, as she always had, ready to spring to her feet if the need should arise. I leant back in the sofa. It was time to hear what she had to say. I could delay no longer and neither could she.

"Brian," she began, her naturally husky voice hadn't changed, "You're part of the FBI?"'

Slowly I nodded. There was something in her words that made me understand she wasn't going to hurt me and that wasn't even on her list of intentions. I frowned as I considered her words. She was digging. Letty never asked a question like that unless she already knew the answer and what she was going to do with the information she received.

"Listen, I heard that the FBI is looking for drivers to bring down the drug trafficker Arturo Braga," Letty blurted out, obviously desperate to get to her point.

"How do you know that?" How could she know that? The last two agents were dead. We covered our tracks, no one should know the FBI was looking for Braga.

"I have my ways," she said with a slight grin, "I'd be willing to help you. Run for Braga, carry the drugs across the border, collect information, whatever you need."

I raised my eyebrow, her proposition was interesting and uncharacteristically submissive of Letty. She was willing to carry out a job for the FBI, a group of people she despised because we tried to stop people like her. People who raced on the streets, hijacked trucks and generally broke the law.

I drew a deep breath before asking a question I knew I didn't want to hear the answer to but one that needed answered all the same.

"What's in it for you?" I asked her.

Letty bit her lip, looking uncertain for what I thought was the first time in her life. Her eyes once lit with enthusiasm and fight were now shadowed with defeat.

"You have to clear Dom's record," she requested, "I'll do anything to bring down the Braga cartel in exchange for the wiping of Dom's record. His record is to be cleared so he can come home to LA, to Mia, to me." Her voice trailed off and I saw the glimmer of tears in the Latina's eyes. With some discretion she tried to wipe her eyes to conceal her feelings. Her hand crept to the necklace around her neck, Dom's necklace. I'd never seen him part with it but he'd obviously gifted it to her.

Where the hell was Dom? I had known they'd fled to Mexico and Puerto Rico and back to Mexico through the last few years causing the usual amount of chaos and disfunction that followed them everywhere.

"Why aren't you with Dom, Let? Where is he?" I asked, slipping back into our old way of talking to each other.

Our friendship had revolved around Dom but we had our moments where we had been close. It had always been Letty who'd stood up for me when it came to my relationship with Mia. When Dom had gotten hard on us, she'd used every resource available to her and tried to convince him that Mia was old enough to make her own decisions. For two girls the same age, Dom had always viewed Letty as strong and capable and Mia like a precious jewel to be protected. Every single one of Letty's decisions were not to be questioned but to be enacted exactly as she ordered. In contrast, Mia's were to be carefully scrutinised and picked apart before they could be enacted.

"Dom left me," she admitted. She mumbled her words and I could tell she was ashamed at having to admit that fact out loud. Though probably more ashamed with herself by the fact she wanted him back here so much. Fiercely independent it was probably killing Letty inside that she had to admit to loving someone as much as she loved Dom.

"Why?"

"He left me in the DR, that's where we were," she confessed, "Well we were in Mexico first then we went to Puerto Rico, back to Mexico and then to the DR, but you probably already know that." A slight flush crossed Letty's face and she chuckled at her memories of those places. I nodded and laughed in agreement.

"Some crazy heists went down in Puerto Rico girl, I'll not lie. When I heard the news I knew it was you two. No one else can do the things you two can." When Dom and Letty stole, they didn't really steal for themselves. They usually had that Robin Hood vibe to accompany them. They almost saw it as if people were in need, then you gave it to them. You don't hoard something if you don't need it, instead you hand it out to those that need it most. It was common criminals like them that I found it difficult to convict. How can any cop turn in someone who was trying to make the world a better place?

Rolling her eyes Letty ran her hand through her hair. I took a gulp of the fast cooling tea and waited on her to carry on.

"So, that day we pulled off our biggest heist in at least a year. The people of the DR they were struggling for fuel and they needed it to survive. You know Dom, he's a give the people what they need kind of person, so he persuaded us to band together and steal the entire haul on this truck." Letty sighed. "Things went a bit wrong and the truck exploded..."

"Yeh so I saw," I interrupted her. I was amazed she was even telling me all this, she was obviously trying to make me trust her and I had to commend her, it was working.

"Anyways that night Dom tried to convince me that I didn't want to be there when the cops caught up to him," she admitted. Her eyes lit with a passion and a fight as she said her next words. "But I tried to convince him I still believed in us. That we were still going to ride or die. I'll always ride or die with him, Brian. Always. We went back to the house we were staying in and when I woke up the next morning he was gone."

She drew a shaky breath and I reached across the table to pat her hand in a friendly kind of way. I could barely believe what she was telling me. Dom and her had always been a real couple. They'd been serious since she was something like fifteen and didn't mess each other around. It didn't seem like Dom to leave her, through everything, even when it had come to Vince hanging off the truck, he had still insisted that Leon turn back for Letty. Letty had always been at the forefront of his mind, never to be moved from that position. Unless he thought he was doing it for her, to protect her. Letty had never needed protecting, without Dom realising it, she'd always been the one protecting him. Without him realising it, it had been the Latina who so often stood by his side, that really had his back. While Dom did everything for Letty, it was Letty who gave a lot for Dom. More than he'd ever know.

"I'm so sorry Let."

"So will you promise me to bring Dom home if I run for you?" Instantly a determined look crossed her face and she stared me straight in the eye for the first time. Even now, after everything he'd gotten wrong and even though he'd left her, she was still protecting him. Even from this distance.

"You don't know everything," I said with a grimace.

Letty started into her tea, plainly she'd been too caught up in her story to actually drink her tea. She lifted the cup and slumped back into the sofa and sipped at the now cold tea politely.

"The last two agents didn't come home, it's really dangerous. I can't put someone I care about through that." My voice shook slightly as I spoke. This would either turn her against her idea, I hoped, or make her more determined to be the informer who lived.

She waved her hand dismissively. "Agents ain't real drivers, I'm a real driver. They'll never suspect me. Real racers aren't made they're born and I'm one of them."

I shook my head and a laugh escaped me. One thing about Letty, which would obviously never leave her, was her determination. Once she made up her mind to do something, she stuck to it. At my laugh she smirked. Her smirk was hollow without Dom there to smirk along beside her. Even her presence seemed halved with the absence of Dom. It was as though they were strongest when they knew the other was right there waiting for them, ready to spring into action if necessary, despite the rare need they had for assistance. Without him she was a shell of herself. I could only imagine that without her and the combined guilt of leaving her that Dom was in shreds, not knowing what to do with himself and punishing himself for what he'd done to the woman he loved most.

"Okay, I promise, in exchange for you working for me, I'll have Dom's whole record wiped and he can come home to you."

Involuntarily a smile crept across my face as I saw Letty grin. At the promise that Dom might be finally allowed to return home it had lifted her spirit. One look in her dark brown eyes highlighted her determination as they lit with that absolute fight that only the eyes of Letty Ortiz had ever possessed.

"Thank you Brian."

I nodded slightly, not having the words for this. There were no words for something like this.

"If I do die and he ends up returning to LA. Tell him it wasn't his fault. I did it for him," she murmured.

That was the Letty I knew, strong and driven. Even the face of death, something everyone else would be flinching at the thought of, she stood strong and stayed determined. That was another thing about her, she accepted the harsh realities of life in a stoic sort of way, never flinching from anything and never running until she had run out of options.

For a second she hesitated like she was about to say something more. Instead she gave me her cell phone number and I gave her mine. She had nothing more to say so she said goodbye and left, letting herself out into the darkness of the hallway.

I shook my head as I locked my door up after she left. She had really changed in the last few years. The only thing I now had to fear was what Dom would do to me if he found out that I'd been the agent who ran Letty if anything happened to her. Internally I vowed to bring Letty home in one piece and have her reunited with Dom. A person who is willing to carry out such a selfless act for another person, putting their own life on the line, did not deserve death but a long and happy life with the person that they loved most.


	11. Chapter 10

**Letty's POV**

I left Brian's apartment in the safety of darkness. With some luck none of the street racers would have seen me coming or going as it wouldn't take them long to figure out who I'd been to see. Then my plan would go up in smoke.

I slid into my Plymouth. I buckled up and drove home on the almost empty streets of LA. It was just after midnight. My mind was in overdrive. I knew I'd forced Brian into doing something he didn't want to do but I needed him to do this for me. I needed to bring Dom home. Oddly Brian had understood my desperation which I was sure showed clearly on my face, recognising it and pinning it as genuine. I knew he'd be angry at himself for agreeing to this but I couldn't not try to bring Dom home. It was more important to me that I wipe Dom's record than make Brian happy.

Pulling into the driveway of 1327 I turned the engine off and sat there for a moment. Closing my eyes I drew one sharp breath. I needed to settle myself or else I'd never sleep.

Without realising it fully I was back in the house and creeping up the stairs. Mia hadn't a clue where I was at tonight but she was used to me coming and going randomly as I pleased.

I fell into our bed and pulled the duvet up around me. For the first night in the whole month that I'd been back at 1327 I felt at peace with myself. I slept the whole night through and for the first night in a month I didn't dream.

I spent the following week and a half working on the Charger and tuning up my Plymouth. I kept myself occupied.

Then on the Wednesday my cell phone rang. Picking up my cheap cell phone from its abandoned position on the garage floor I answered it. Typically I didn't even bother to see who was calling.

"Hey Let," Brian's voice sounded down the line.

"Hey man," I replied as I leant against the half finished body of the Charger.

"Listen, street race tonight to audition for Braga's Cartel," Brian said nervously.

"Yeh, where?"

He cleared his throat and I could hear the faint rustle of papers from his end of the line. "You know where the old golf club used to be?"

"Yeh, downtown LA."

"Yeh you need to be there by eleven. They're racing then. You're up against three other guys but from what I know of those kids they ain't got a hope in hell against you."

I chuckled. His flattery was kind but arrogance never won anyone a race. "Thanks man. I'll let you know how it goes."

"Yeh call anytime or text me if you need me. Keep your cell phone switched on at all times so we can keep a track on you," Brian ordered sternly, "Because I'm not letting anything happen to you."

"Thanks. Talk later Brian."

"Talk later Let."

As I hung up, I glanced at the time. Approaching three. The idea of a nap was appealing. Wiping my black and grime stained hands on the front of my overalls I knew I'd already settled on the idea of a nap and nothing would stop me.

I stripped down to my underwear and fell into our unmade bed, right into my spot on the left side of the bed. I drifted over to sleep instantly.

I rose again after eight, absolutely ravenous. I went for a quick shower, pulled on underwear and a t shirt of Dom's and then headed downstairs to eat. Mia was on her way up the stairs.

"Where you been?" She asked, a tired smile crossing her face.

I decided to lie. I couldn't tell her what I had planned for tonight. She'd probably try to pin me down and stop me going. I'd just tell her it was another street race, nothing out of the usual. Except it was on a Wednesday but no matter she'd hopefully not query me too much.

"In bed. There's a street race on tonight. I thought I'd rest up for it." My lie rolled off my tongue easily seeing as it was only a half lie and was practically the truth.

Mia nodded and grinned again. "I've dinner on a plate for you, just heat it up."

"Thanks. See you later on," I said.

"See you at some point." Mia trudged sleepily up the stairs and I heard her sigh as she stepped into her room. Most likely relieved to see her bed.

In the kitchen a tin foil covered dinner plate caught my eye. I lifted the tinfoil to see mash and chicken strips. Mia was really into proper home cooked meals. I heated it then sat at the kitchen table and to distract myself poured over an old notebook of mine. It was filled with notes on the Plymouth. The cheap blue leather cover was worn out slightly. When I'd been rebuilding it I'd thought it was wise to write everything down. All the parts, prices, just in case I needed anything and couldn't recall the exact model number of the part. My sketches and doodles filled the pages, footnotes in messy curving writing.

Afterwards I mulled everything over in my head for tonight. I was prepared physically. The car was in top condition, absolutely perfect. The problem was my own thought process. I didn't have a clue who I'd be racing or what they'd be like. Fear of the unknown is sometimes a terrible thing. It wears you down more than fear of anything else does.

I headed upstairs and looked for a clean pair of jeans and a tank top. I grabbed a ripped pair of black ripped jeans and a black tank top. The cropped red leather jacket Dom had bought me years ago for my nineteenth birthday caught my eye so I slipped it on. The slight smell of the leather lingered for a second in the air around me. Again that was before everything got complicated.

Yanking on my combat boots I was practically ready to go. I caught sight of my pale face in the mirror. The urge to put on makeup overwhelmed me. Usually I didn't care but I wasn't turning up to this race looking like a nervous wreck. Quickly I applied foundation and a touch of black eyeliner. Anything to make myself look human. I pulled my hair up away from my face so I wouldn't run my hands through it nervously. Dom leaving me now was beginning to tell physically as my inward emotions were now plain on my face. I looked older than twenty five, it was especially plain around my eyes. They were strained with a desperate look permanently ingrained into them.

It was approaching ten. It would take me a good forty minutes to head across town. I had a full tank of gas and with that knowledge I knew I'd be okay. Carefully I tucked my phone into my back pocket otherwise I'd forget it. I put it on silent so it couldn't distract me, not that it beeped too often.

I locked the house up because Mia was sleeping and her key would be in her handbag. Slipping into my car I sat back comfortably in the seat. Clipping on my five point harness I relaxed into the seat.

Soon enough I was parked outside the old golf club. Outside the building, faces I was beginning to recognise from the street racing scene milled around. A slight electric buzz could be felt crackling in the air and I could tell the excitement was building for the race. I leant against my car, watching the crowd for a second. Laughter rose and fell into the darkness of the night. Racer chasers tried to shiver subtlety in the cool night air due to their skimpy clothing. Once more I found myself enchanted by the complete variety of the racing scene. Looks wise there was no absolute look for a street racer. You could be girly looking if you chose to be. You could be plain. You could be rough and ready. In my opinion the street racing scene had always been diverse. There was a real richness to the people who were engaged. Yeh, street racers have a bad name but really they're just ordinary people who happen to have a passion and an affinity for the whole car culture and a real deep understanding of the thrill of speed.

Through the crowd a leggy brunette made her way towards me. Model looks and elegant features, for want of a better word she was stunning. I suppose I stood out like a sore thumb, stood on my own and leant against a classic American muscle car. Casting my eyes over the sea of parked cars I realised I owned the only American muscle car present.

"Leticia?" The brunette asked me, tipping her head to the side.

"Letty," I corrected her automatically. Personally I didn't think my real name suited me.

"Letty," the woman mumbled thoughtfully. There was a slight twang to her accent. I guessed Spanish from how she pronounced my proper name. "Follow me."

I followed her silently. Clearly this Braga guy either knew an old groundskeeper or owned the place as it was opened up. The door lay wide open and people were weaving their way in and out. The woman led me up the staircase, the wood creaking slightly beneath my weight.

On the balcony stood two men. One of them was short with a stout build. He wasn't fat but he had a beer belly. His dark eyes glittered with mischief and something calculating. His skin was slightly tanned, a shade or two darker than mine so I assumed him to be Mexican. The man held a golf club which he was using to hit balls from the balcony down onto the course. Clearly showing off. A name surfaced in my mind, one Brian had mentioned. Campos.

Close to Campos stood a tall man with dark skin. Fenix. My eyes raked over him carefully. He was exactly as Brian described. At least six foot four if not taller he towered over everyone else present. His muscles flexed as he moved. His impressive build would have put even Dom to shame. Immediately I noticed how his eyes constantly roamed over the small group of racers stood before him and then flicked back to Campos. Something about his darting gaze was strange but I tried not to stare. He turned to say something to the woman and my eyes clapped onto a gun discretely tucked into his jeans. He was team muscle. Now I was completely sure I was to be wary of him. Fenix would be dangerous. There were only two reasons men carried guns constantly, one reason was feeling inferior to those around them or the other reason that there was someone to protect.

Again I looked around for the ever elusive Braga. From what Brian knew and what I'd heard from the street races Braga had never been seen even by those who worked for the cartel. Those who worked for the cartel were simply paid by Campos in cash in envelopes.

"You all know why you are here," Campos said in a clear voice. His voice rang through the air, "Good drivers are a dime a dozen. Man, every corner's got a chingadera tuner racing for pinks. That's not what Braga has got me looking for. Braga wants someone that would sell their abuelita to be behind the wheel. Someone that drives their butt to push it and make it through places no one else would take it. Real drivers."

I smirked. Real drivers. The guy wanted real drivers to smuggle heroin across the boarder. That didn't take real drivers, in many senses of the words it took crazy drivers and people with a death wish. Well, people like me.

"Something funny?" Fenix asked me. Now that he was up close I didn't find him all that intimidating. There was a flicker of something in his eyes, an emotion I couldn't place. An emotion which proved to me he wasn't very comfortable in a situation he should have been well adapted to.

"Yeh, what are we carrying?" I decided to press on and challenge him anyway. I wasn't a pushover.

He frowned. "How do you mean?"

"A real driver knows what's in their car at all times," I explained carefully, "What do you need us to carry?"

"You won't be carrying anything this time," he scoffed.

"Fenix," Campos murmured. So Campos was in charge, Brian would probably know that but I'd be sure to tell him.

"Here," the woman said with accented English. Her strong Spanish twang coloured her English in quite a nice way. She was easy to understand. I knew the GPS would deliver an awkward route for me to navigate, Brian had warned me well about the route being through traffic and against its flow.

I mumbled a thanks and everyone switched on their GPS system as we walked back down the stairs to the cars.

Getting back into my Plymouth I plugged the GPS into my car. I frowned as it loaded, the route took us straight through the traffic. I'd only really raced through traffic once or twice before, I always thought it was too dangerous for my liking. Dismissing my own selfish thought I refocused my mind on my end goal, Dom coming home. Nothing was too dangerous to bring Dom home.

I pulled up to the race line alongside the cars belonging to the men. I was the only woman here. I glanced over to see them all looking at me in their imported cars. To me racing had always been American muscle cars. American muscle could drift despite the popular misconception that it couldn't and this misconception seemed to have pushed people towards imports due to the popularity of drifting.

The GPS counted down three, two, one and I took off. We pulled straight out into thick traffic. My palms sweated as I raced through the traffic going against its flow. I could see only one guy in front of me and three behind me. I flicked up one more gear and pushed my foot down on the accelerator making myself go faster. Repeatedly I told myself I could do it. The GPS took a sudden left turn, I dropped a gear and took her sideways just after the guy in the Skyline in front of me took it too hard and lost control of the car; wiping out into a wall. Rolling my eyes I straightened up again and recovered my speed. Half a mile to go but I knew from racing on the streets that even in the short space of time it took to drive a half mile, everything could change. Arrogance didn't ever win anyone a race. I saw the front lights of the guy in the Corolla and pushed my button for NOS. I sped across the finish line in an easy victory.

Performing a U turn at my speed and controlling it was the perfect finale. I smiled at the assembled crowd as I got out and Campos and Fenix made their way towards me with broad grins. They were impressed. I was a real racer, born, bred and reared.

"Congratulations you drive for Braga now," Campos said as he shook my hand. "First girl ever, isn't it Fenix?"

Fenix grunted in agreement with Campos. The woman from before smiled at me. I liked her, a feisty one I'd reckon. She was the only person who was nameless to me. Brian hadn't mentioned a woman or if he had he hadn't dwelled on her existence.

"When the GPS calls, you come," Campos told me as he turned to disappear again but he hesitated long enough to give directions to the woman, "Gizelle, take her details."

"Drivers licence?" Gizelle asked me.

I raised an eyebrow as I reached into my hip pocket and handed her the one Brian had got for me. I hadn't had a current one until this week much to Brian's amazement and I only had one because of Brian.

"Thumb print?" She requested.

I obliged and placed my thumb onto her computerised device. Definitely a techie person. Clever then. Plotting too I'd bet.

"Congratulations," she murmured, "Vaya con Dios."

"Gracias," I murmured slipping into easy Spanish, "Y tú, Vaya con Dios."

Her eyebrow arched slightly as I realised she was shocked I understood her and was able to reply in her own language.

"Adios," I said as I moved to slide back into my car. She opened her mouth to say something again but instead muttered a hasty goodbye.

I glanced up into my mirror as I pulled away to see Gizelle watching me go. I'd known not to linger amongst these people. The longer I lingered the greater the chances I'd have of slipping up and the greater my chance of not getting to bring Dom home or ever see him again as I'd be six foot under.


	12. Chapter 11

**Letty's POV**

Pulling up outside the house I leant my head back against the head rest. I needed to call Brian. Lifting my cell phone I pressed redial and was sat for a few short seconds listening to the dial tone.

"Letty?" Brian's anxious voice sounded down the line.

"I'm in," I replied.

Laughter rang as Brian let go of his built up stress. "Any chance I could come over and we talk. See if I can add anything to my notes?"

"I'll come over to yours," I suggested. The soft part of me that cared deeply about Mia didn't want her rising to find Brian at the dining room table with me. I wouldn't hurt my best friend like that. Mia had been in love with Brian in a way she'd never been in love with anyone else. She had been in love with Brian in a similar way to how I was in love with Dom.

"I'll see you in a bit then."

"See you in a bit," I agreed.

Clearly this couldn't wait until tomorrow. I clicked the end call button and reversed out of the driveway. I used the drive to Brian's apartment as time to gather my thoughts. What I'd noticed and what I felt it meant. He'd want to know all the fine details.

Soon I was stood outside his apartment door. In my mind all I could picture was me stood in front of this door a week and a half ago. Looking at the cursive gold number thirteen on the door and praying he'd open it when he saw it was me. It had been Brian complying with my plan that had been crucial to my plan. If he'd refused, I don't know what I'd have done. I'd have worked something out but it would have slowed me up.

The door opened and Brian smiled slightly when he saw me stood there.

"Cmon in," he murmured. His eyes flicked up and down the dimly lit hallway. The sensible part of me knew he was covering all bases, making sure I hadn't been followed.

Brian again made us tea. This was weak. I knew rightly that I couldn't get a beer off him and then drive so I didn't rock the boat.

I sat perched on the sofa near the coffee table where I'd sat not too long ago. So little had happened in that week and a half but it had flown by in many respects probably because I spent so long focusing on the Charger.

Brian passed me a cup and sat down lifting a yellow folder to lean on along with several sheets of lined file paper.

"So did you find out anything I can use?" He asked, his blue eyes held a flicker of hope in them as he spoke.

For a long second I mulled over the events of the night in my head. I watched the steam rise from the mouth of the cup and dissipate into something I couldn't see, it was amazing how quickly something could disappear.

"Braga wasn't there tonight so I can't tell you want he looks like or what he's about," I began. Brian's face fell but he patiently let me continue. "But the other group of three people, that you told me about, they were all there. That guy Campos seems to be in the big picture with Braga as he was the one who told me that Braga was looking for people who would push it through places no one else would and how Braga wanted more than someone who raced for pinks."

"So you think Campos is important?" Brian scribbled something on the page as he replied.

"Really important Brian, if you can, get an ID on him. Find a track record. He seems like the type with a colourful past." I'd met the type of Campos before, slippery and cunning. Usually they had a real hand in cartels and shady dealings. I'd shaken hands with people like Campos before and walked away fighting to urge to look over my shoulder to make sure a gun wasn't pointed at my back or at my head so that I wouldn't get my brains blown out. People like Campos could never be trusted and would double cross you at every turn. Guys like that normally had a reputation and an interesting one at that.

"What about the others?"

"There's a guy called Fenix and he's pretty much team muscle," I said as I wracked my brain because I knew I'd noticed something odd about him, what was it? The gun. "He was carrying a gun around with him, it was tucked into his trousers in such a way that unless you knew it was there you never would have noticed it."

Brian bit his lip as he thought. "What gave it away to you?"

"I've been in this game so long, I automatically look for shit like guns." I fought the urge to scoff. There was no way Brian thought I sat in the car whilst Dom organised everything. I did a lot of the talking using double entendres to get my way or unexpected sharp words to coerce concessions where they wouldn't have been granted otherwise.

"Why did he have a gun?" Brian asked curiously.

"Don't know. It was weird because there was no one of significance there. No Braga and he'd be the obvious one they'd carry guns to protect. Could just be a superiority thing with him."

He rubbed his hand along the stubble on his chin thinking as he scribbled notes from what I said.

"What about Gizelle?" He asked finally.

"Gizelle seems to have brains. She's like a proper techie. She took a picture of my drivers licence and my thumb print. She's the one who gives you your GPS for your audition for the cartel and your GPS when you win. I'd pin her as dangerous because she's so clever." I scratched my head trying to force myself to think. "As I left she said to me, "Vaya con Dios. Go with God. That was strange to me, in a cartel the last thing I'd have suspected is a healthy respect for a deity of any kind."

A smirk crossed his face as we held eye contact. "You know Dom has a healthy respect for his religion."

"Dom's not in a cartel, is he?" I retorted as I chuckled. The buster definitely had a lot more confidence now than back when I last knew him.

He shrugged as he noted everything. "The race?"

"Through traffic, there was a corner that unless you dropped a gear to take her sideways you'd have wiped out like the guy in front of me did."

"Drifting?"

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you think taking her sideways means?"

Brian made a note of the route we'd been taken around as I described it to him.

"Cheers Let, when the GPS calls text me "Coffee later" and I'll know."

"Okay," I agreed.

"Would we be allowed to place a standard issue tracker in your car?"

"No!" Was he serious? What a great way to get shot. I might as well write on my forehead the word rat in thick black letters.

"Why?"

"Those cars are going to be searched before they're allowed to drive his shipments across the boarder so forget that O'Connor. I'm not willing to be shot for that." I'd lay down my life for real things but not for having a tracker in my car put there by an idiot cop who didn't realise it would be dangerous.

"Probably what gave the other agents away," he murmured in agreement obviously respecting my open and honest adamance and realising his own naive stupidity.

I nodded. He talked me through the pattern that the other two agents seemed to be slotted in to. They hadn't heard from Braga's GPS for almost a week and a half after their audition and they were raced three times before on the third time they were shot.

"The drivers were taken through tunnels built into the side of the mountains along the boarder. The tunnels took them underground and take intense concentration to get through. So when you come through you park in a circle and they take the shipments out of the cars and they got back home" Brian explained, "However we, well I've, noticed from mixing casually among the street racers and the odd informant, the drivers are only getting run once now twice at the most."

"He will need drivers more often. Don't people notice that people aren't returning?"

He shrugged and I felt myself getting nervous. Cold sweat trickled down my back and I felt my heart rate accelerate. I'd be run once. Once. Twice if I was lucky. I'd need cunning. At least I knew there was a pattern.

"I need to get home," I said as the thought of my impending journey for Braga lingered in my mind.

"Yeh, see you soon Let," Brian told me.

He walked me to the door and squeezed my arm as I walked past him back into the dim corridor. Soon I was stood in the sharp night air. The cool breeze nipped at my face and hands as I hurried to my car. I just wanted to get home and sleep. Tonight had been exhausting.

My drive back home was uneventful and I climbed into bed at just after three in the morning. My dreams that night were filled with Dom. I missed him incredibly. I just remembered flashes of conversations and all the beautiful moments we had shared. Even the beautiful moments which had come out of nowhere. Some had evolved out of rapid exchanges of bad tempered words. That night I dreamt about Dom again. This time about the kiss we'd shared only days after Brian and Mia had their first date.

" _Looks good," Brain said as he kissed Mia on the cheek. The buster was using the pretence of pretending to admire the stickers Mia was putting on the Supra as an excuse to get close to her._

 _"Thank you,"'Mia replied with a blush, "You get much sleep last night?"_

 _"No but I kind of like it that way," Brian said as he started kissing her cheek, carefully mapping his way round to her lips._

 _That's when Dom walked into the room and he was clutching a rusted crowbar and it made me shake my head. He was going to intimidate Brian with his macho tool. If he even touched Brian with it he'd hurt him badly._

 _"I have to get a spray gun, see if they've got any at Harry's," Brian told Dom after standing up so fast I was sure he'd get a head rush._

 _"Drive safe." Dom told Brian as he gripped onto his crowbar tightly. He gave Brian a look, a look that told him his sister wasn't somebody he could just mess around with. It had to be the real deal or nothing at all._

 _Brian and Mia whispered goodbye to each other under Dom's close scrutiny. His intense gaze was making me uncomfortable._

 _"Isn't there a test or something you should be studying for right now?" Dom asked Mia with a frown. He didn't want Mia and Brian getting too close before she was finished school because unlike the rest of us she was close to finishing school. The rest of us had hardly any qualifications. All we'd ever be fit for was garage work and stealing DVD players._

 _"Don't worry about it Dom. I can handle it. I know what I've got to do," Mia said as she shrugged him off._

 _"You know I am worried about it. You're not doing enough about it." His accusation rang through the air as little truth lay in it, Mia worked harder than any if the rest of us had ever worked at school._

 _"Get off my back!" Mia retorted with her jaw clenched._

 _Dom watched her leave and his shoulders relaxed a little. He was still holding his weapon of intimidation. His crowbar. Slowly I rose from my position on the other side of the garage and stood up._

 _"Hey Dom don't you think your sister's entitled to a little happiness?" I asked him as I made my way towards him. I looked up at him through my eyelashes hoping that it would make him soften._

 _"Of course I think she's entitled to happiness," he spat back at me. He dropped his crowbar with a clatter before pointing towards the door with his now empty hand. "I have to keep making sure she moves forward. She doesn't belong here. Why do you care anyway?"_

 _"She's old enough to make her own decisions." Mia and I were the same age but he'd always seen me as someone older and someone to be respected in her own right while he tried to do everything possible to shelter Mia and close her off from the life we lived. The life we were rapidly getting ensnared in. A life I barely understood even as I got hopelessly tangled in it like a fly did in a spiders web._

 _"Letty this..." Dom trailed off as he turned away from me. He was about to shut me out so I grabbed him by the arm making him face me, include me in this._

 _"There's nothing you need to be worrying about. This one is going to stick by your side." I looked up into his face to see an amused grin spreading across it. The grin I knew I loved. Even then I didn't like saying the words I love you. Instead I stuck to promises of being there always. He knew what I meant._

 _"You going to stick by me?" His eyebrows raised in acknowledgement of my silent, personal proclamation of love._

 _"Maybe," I said raising an eyebrow at him in what I hoped was a seductive manner as I started unbuttoning his shirt. I was using this as an opportunity to take control and he was letting me. It was easy to tell he wanted to be distracted and I was more than happy to oblige._

 _"Maybe," he repeated as I pulled his shirt off his shoulders._

 _"You don't always have to be such a tough guy," I breathed as I pulled the shirt completely off him and held it in my right hand._

 _We moved into each other teasingly slow and I closed the distance before he got the chance. Our lips collided and instantly his hands were drawn to my ass. The nerves on the edge of curve of my ass where it joins with the thigh started tingling. He grabbed me tightly ensuring I could never fall from his grasp and lifted me up so I could wrap my legs around his waist. His lips never left mine until I drew back to look down at him from my new height. I swung his shirt around like a cowboy swings a rope and tossed it away, not even looking where it landed because all I could look at was him. Dom made his way over to the sofa we kept in the garage for taking a rest. To be honest nobody really sat on it after they realised what Dom and I used it for. He sat down and I straddled him to be comfortable. He buried his face into my chest making me giggle as I held onto him. God I loved him._

I woke that morning feeling slightly flustered but oddly content. I was one step closer to bringing Dom home. I just had to be clever and keep feeding the information back to Brian with as much precision as I could.

Heading back out to Mr Toretto's garage I kept working on the Charger with a renewed sense of purpose.


	13. Chapter 12

**Letty's POV**

The next week blurred past in a combination of fixing up the Charger and hanging out with Mia. My GPS beeped on the Thursday and I frowned at the black rectangular device as it downloaded co ordinates. The co ordinates stemmed from my current position in the garage out the back of 1327 to the very centre of LA. A good ten minute drive if I floored it. Thirty if I cruised. I knew I'd have to be fast. I wrote a note for Mia saying I was going to help Hector with a car and then headed off, jumping into my Plymouth. I tossed my leather jacket in the back seat and took a deep breath to settle myself.

My drive felt too short. I needed to stay calm. I pulled into a dimly lit warehouse alongside five other cars. The shine of a blue Nissan caught my eye and I recognised it as a new version of the 240SX, the car I'd been driving four years earlier.

Two men walked around with Campos and they were popping the hoods on the cars and checking them over to see of tracking devices were installed. I fixed an idle expression on my face and pretended not to care what they were doing. Carefully I watched their every movement, even rolling the window down a fraction to hear what was going on. One thing struck me, the goons eyes flicked back to Campos every so often to see what he was doing, where he was looking. It was strange. Campos was obviously central to this organisation. The other thing I kept a keen lookout for was Braga. Yet he still remained faceless and unknown to me.

The slightly shorter goon popped the hood of the Plymouth. As he did so he let out a low whistle, a whistle which exposed him as a true car lover. The car was perfect under the hood and as I liked to tell Dom, "So clean you could eat your dinner off of it."

"Nice mod," the guy said.

I opened the door a fraction to reply. I made sure he could see my face because even though I was a woman he'd be able to appreciate me as a damn fine mechanic.

"Where'd you get her done?" He asked. His interest gave him away as a man who did have a real interest in the car scene and culture. The scene was one you either craved to be a part of or a scene that you resented because of all the bad press that it received.

"I did it myself." My voice was coloured with pride and I could feel a grin spreading across my face in delight.

He grinned and shook his head in reply, very gently closing the hood. Every other car's hood had been slammed shut, mines had been gently pushed shut. It was as though he recognised the value of this car to me.

I was waved forwards into the container. If I hadn't been told by Brian this was what was about to happen then I'd have been intrigued completely by them. I knew I'd wind up on the other side of the border. It was so much harder to get into America than into Mexico.

Pulling my cell phone out of my hip pocket I text Brian "Coffee later?" He knew not to reply and if he remembered he'd know I was off on my trip across the border.

I sat back in the seat. Three hours until I could get out of this dimly lit container. The faint red glow gave the container an eerie feel. Closing my eyes, I reclined in the seat. I'd been full of good intentions to put a book in the car for something to do. Even a notebook to doodle or a car magazine. Something so I wouldn't be bored useless. Instead I was forced to sit in the drivers seat of the Plymouth with nothing to do. With nothing to do I drifted into a doze.

 _I lay in Dom's bed half sleeping but half awake. I was almost fully alert to everything going on around me but sleep was pulling me under fast. It was hard not to be lulled to sleep by the sound of Dom's deep and even breathing and his arm wrapped snuggly around my shoulders, with his fingers rubbing little circles into my arm so lightly I barely felt it. My head was tucked in below his arm. I was comfortable. Safe and warm. The moonlight cast a slight light into the room through the narrow slits in the Venetian blinds. Rarely did we draw the curtains._

 _My breathing was getting heavier and I was seconds away from sleep when I felt Dom's lips brush my forehead and I grinned sleepily, burrowing even closer to him._

 _"I love you Letty," he murmured in his deep drawling voice. His voice rang with sincerity even at its low pitch. I couldn't doubt the words he said but I couldn't reply. Not properly. I wasn't good at telling anyone I loved them. God knew I loved him. He knew I loved him. I just couldn't say it out loud. The words caught in my throat and when they did escape they sounded wrong. Broken and malformed syllables would fall from my lips and I'd stutter trying to catch them. To make them into real words. Every single time I'd fail. Fail miserably._

 _My eyes sprang open in silent panic. I'd heard those words said when my Father had slapped my Mother. "I'm doing this because I love you." The words had forever carried that taint of violence and abuse. After hearing the most precious words in any language strung together in such a twisted context it had spoiled them for me. After hearing them used like that I'd doubted those three words could fix anything like it had always been promised in fairy tales because I came to associate those words with the sharp unforgiving sound of slaps and the smell of fear._

 _Yet I loved Dom. My internal battle of trying to say the words carried on. Even in the dim moonlight I could see Dom's eyes widening. He had drawn back from me a little. He knew I was panicked._

 _How could I tell him? Didn't he understand I preferred to show him I loved him. I couldn't say thank you. I couldn't say I know. This was different to my Father though. My Father had been a cruel man whilst he had lived and my Mother had ran to LA to get away from him. Dom was nothing like my Father and I was nothing like my Mother. Surely that meant these words were different. That they meant something more. Something real. That they captured a feeling I knew I felt for him. I loved him._

 _My mind was made up. I could tell him I loved him because it was just us here. Taking a deep breath I steadied my nerve and willed it to hold. I was a physical person not an emotional one so saying feelings didn't work as easily for me as a fist fight or having sex. The latter was physical. I didn't need words because emotions were felt as raw as they were. Words were hard for me, complicated. In many ways telling Dom I loved him out loud was going to take more courage than any fist fight ever had._

 _"I-I-I..." I stammered, my nerve crumbling. I was fighting my own worst enemy. Myself. There is no punishment worse than being a prisoner to your own mind. A slave to your own thoughts._

 _I saw Dom's face fall but his eyebrows creased with worry. He knew something was bothering me as being stunned into a panic stricken silence was rare for me._

 _Taking another deep breath I composed myself again, readying myself to tell him how I felt. "I l-lo-v-v-e." My nerve left me and I could feel frustrated tears trickling down my cheeks making me more embarrassed. Not for the first time I was struck with the thought he deserved someone better than me._

 _Pushing myself up into a sitting position I watched as Dom sat up beside me. He tucked me under his arm and a wave of hatred struck me. Why couldn't I muster up the bravery to say those words? Any other words and I'd be fine._

 _Surrendering the last shred of my pride I forced the words out. Like heavy stones they fell from my lips. "I love you." I'd croaked the words out at the price of fighting against my own mind, against the defences I'd built so long ago. In the process I'd humiliated myself and tortured Dom by making him wait whilst I'd fought my own demons._

 _He rested his head on top of mine and for a long moment we sat in silence._

 _"I'm sorry. It's just those words I have trouble with," I admitted carefully._

 _"I won't ever force you to say anything you ain't comfortable with," Dom murmured softly into my hair._

 _A few tears leaked from beneath my eyelids and I let them escape. Dom said nothing and let me sort out my thoughts. I needed other words to say._

 _"How about til I'm ready I'll promise you to ride or die," I suggested. "I'll be your ride or die chick. I'll ride with you any time, any place, no matter the consequences."_

 _"Ride or die?" Dom drawled as he tried the words out for size. "Yeh that'll be our version of I love you. I think it suits us."_

 _I grinned. "We ain't cut out for mushy shit anyway man. Instead we gotta ride or die." My smart mouthed reply was met with Dom's laugh and I could tell at least for now I had time to get my head together about those three words and work out how to say them._

Movement in the container jolted me awake. My eyes flicked around searching for the source of the noise. It sounded like footprints on metal. To my right I saw two guys talking to each other, heads close together. I sat up straighter to give myself a better field of vision.

"Where we going?" One of the guys asked as he walked round the front of my Plymouth.

I shrugged. "Don't matter."

The guy looked baffled and I closed my eyes again. Fear radiated off him in waves. It wasn't until I was sure he was definitely gone that I opened my eyes. People did terrible things when they were afraid. My stomach fluttered as I sat there. Nerves. It was perhaps wiser not to let myself fall asleep. Yet I obviously wasn't wise if I was parked in this container.

Shutting my eyes again I skipped back into a doze. I'd always been one of those people who could fall asleep in seconds. I knew Mia wasn't and she resented that I was one. She wished she could easily slip into sleep no matter where she was like I could. Unlike her it was me who was plagued by dreams and nightmares. Ghosts and demons followed me everywhere. There was so much that I'd seen in my life, so much that I tried to forget. Yet there's some things you aren't supposed to forget. Those are the things that make you who you are.

 _Music filled the air in the living room at our normal post street race party one hot Friday night in August. The ecstasy from winning so many races and the rush of having pockets fully lined with money mixed with the alcohol gave me the most incredible buzz of my life. My head grew unusually light as I got drunk fast. The feeling was immense. There was nothing like it._

 _Mia and I danced, my feet ached even in my flat combat boots. Mia's ankles looked swollen in her heels but she was laughing anyway as she moved to the beat of the music. The music was totally random. A mismatched combination of songs. Jesse was DJing which he was surprisingly good at. For someone with ADD he was really attentive to the atmosphere in a room. He burnt songs onto discs and knew how to keep the party alive until all hours. He'd start with a few really current songs with a strong beat, slow it down for couples whilst people were somewhat sober then pick it up for a bit and play some old stuff then judge how everyone felt. Did the party need boosted or lulled? His intuition when it came to atmosphere was second to none. The racer chasers loved the parties. Outside they danced and in the living room and dining room. The kitchen usually seemed to be occupied by a game of beer pong or dares but it never got too out of hand._

 _We were dancing in the living room in the make shift dance floor. My wavy hair swung wildly as I danced and laughter escaped freely. Across the room I could see Dom watching me. For a few seconds I was tempted to drag him over but then it struck me I should pretend I never noticed him watching me and let him come to me._

 _The song changed, increasing the buzz in the already electric room._

 _"I got my first real six-string_

 _Bought it at the five-and-dime_

 _Played it 'til my fingers bled_

 _Was the summer of '69... "_

 _Mia and I looked set each other and started to scream the words. This was a favourite of ours. It captured to freedom we enjoyed in the summer and weekends, doing as we pleased. It was a bit of a head banger so even the slightly uncoordinated like me could dance to it and enjoy the beat._

 _"Those were the best days of my life,_

 _Back in the summer of '69,_

 _It was the summer of '69..."_

 _The song changed again but this time it was slower. Mia was instantly pulled into some guys arms. He was quite good looking and exactly her type. Dark mysterious eyes and light blonde hair. A happy grin spread across Mia's face as she snuggled up into him._

 _I turned to fetch another Coronas and almost walked straight into Dom. His broad, strong, muscular chest blocked my view of what was behind him. His hands rested themselves on my arms to steady me._

 _"Dance with me Let?" Dom asked gently, holding out one hand to me._

 _Frowning slightly I took his outstretched hand awkwardly. We didn't usually dance together ever. It wasn't our style. We weren't that type of couple. No we were the couple who went to the races and put our foot down for an adrenaline fuelled rush. I rested my head on his chest and listened to the soft beat of his heart through his shirt._

 _"...But no one fucks it up like us_

 _16 and you never even judged me_

 _Matter of fact I always thought you were too cool for me_

 _Sitting there in the caravan_

 _All the nights we've been drunk on the floor..."_

 _The words of the song resonated with me. Each word reminded me of feelings I had for Dom. At seventeen we'd been sort of together for two years even though Dom had been in Lompoc. He'd never judged me for anything I'd done. He'd never judged me for all the fights I'd been in, the crazy money I tossed down when I was betting in a race or the silly things I'd said. The song spoke to me because it reminded me of all the years I'd spent loving Dom from a distance until finally he began to notice me._

 _"...Yet you understand_

 _Yeah like no one can_

 _We both know what they say about us_

 _When I'm with you_

 _When I'm with you_

 _I'm standing with an army_

 _I'm standing with an army..."_

 _I heard Dom singing along with the song. He made me feel invincible, like no one could hurt me. We knew what everyone said about us. Everyone said we'd never last. That we were bad together. That Dom was with me for sex. I knew everyone was wrong. We had something which other couples didn't share. We understood each other without having to speak. Instead we could glance at each other and we'd understand what the other meant._

 _When the song ended Dom raised one eyebrow at me and I looked up as thought at the ceiling when really we were beneath Dom's room. His free hand cupped my cheek and he leant in and kissed me gently. Not long after we were up the stairs, kissing frantically like we couldn't get enough of each other._

The rattling metallic sound of the container door being flung carelessly open jolted me out of my dream. Blinking rapidly to adjust to the slight light creeping into the container I soon realised I was in Mexico. The cool air struck me instantly and I could feel cold sweat rolling in beads down my back. Straightening up I got ready to move.

One by one we rolled out of the container and parked in a semi circle to await our next instructions. Darkness was falling fast. I slid on my cropped bikers jacket and tucked my hands into my pockets as I sat there. There was a sharpness to the night air which was piercing, freezing. The coldness was unlike anything I'd ever experienced in Mexico

We were waved out of the car to stand in a semi circle. Giselle stood in the centre and she cast her eyes around carefully. She seemed to count that there was six drivers the nodded. From her pocket she drew her GPS.

"Sync the GPSs," Giselle ordered in a hard and clear voice. I thought it was a poor attempt to disguise the Spanish twang to her accent.

I fumbled with the black plastic box with a touch screen, I wasn't into techie things. Electronic fuel injection might be the way forward but I still preferred a normal engine. Flicking my eyes to the right I saw the guy beside me push a button on the right hand side so I mimicked him. A few seconds later Giselle nodded seemingly satisfied that the GPSs were synced up properly.

Everyone slipped back into their cars and I took a deep breath to steady my wavering nerve. I knew we were to ride in a straight line as close to the tail end of the car in front as possible. Knowing that made me feel secure, that I knew what I was doing.

I pulled out behind a carbon black M3 and followed him closely. Against the black night his car was barely visible. I got my speed up and cruised along comfortably behind him. I could tell that the other racers were impressed that a woman could drive as well as I could and not only that keep pace with a man.

We drove for about two miles before a streak of green caught my eye. It was coming from the left. A green Ford Torino. Judging from how it handled it ran on either NOS or nitromethane. My gut leant towards Nitromethane. An involuntary smirk spread across my face as I recalled Dom saying, "Only pussies run Nitromethane." I was grateful for that second that I was alone. For Fenix's sake I hoped he ran on NOS and not Nitromethane because I'd be unable to contain my laughter. Then I'd be shot for my inability to quit laughing and not for being a rat, the real issue.

Fenix joined the front of the line up just before the wall on the side of a mountain opened. My eyes widened as the wall opened. I was fascinated by this. How the hell did the border police not notice this? Holy shit! Braga clearly spent a fortune bribing the border police to look the other way so he could build this. It was impressive to say the least. Braga was obviously a very clever man and knew how to invest his money properly. As a criminal myself, I thought it was a good investment.

The M3s brake lights shine in front of me and that's when I noticed the slope into the tunnels Brian had warned me about. I tapped my brakes as my Plymouth rolled over the rocky hard pack. The bumps jolted me around a little even with my five point harness on. I shook from side to side as we passed over the uneven terrain of the tunnels. The tunnels again were a work of art. Fenix didn't follow a straight path and I was attempting to make careful note of the route we took but it was impossible. There were multiple exits and entrances. Many turn offs looked like dead ends. Once more I was forced to concede that'd be elusive Braga was a genius. It was far too easy to get cut up in these tunnels. It was clever to have so many dead ends and turn offs. If someone unfamiliar with the mess of tunnels was to chase you and they fell even a quarter mile behind they'd likely keep taking wrong turns and be completely lost in the dark, confusing maze of tunnels.

I was grateful to see the end of the tunnels. They had been claustrophobic and had me sat on the edge of my seat because I'd known there was nothing I could do about where I sat. I had to keep going. I parked beside the M3 and the cars were unloaded of the heavy trunks of drugs which had been shoved into the boots on the Mexican side of the border.

Fenix climbed out his car and I found myself blessing myself. No driver stepped out of their car and no one was summoned forward. Campos, typically was present, overseeing the unloading of the cars and was pointlessly checking the merchandise, which we'd never had an opportunity to mess with. The girl, Giselle, lingered by my car and I wanted to roll down the window to ask her was everything okay. Something about her I didn't fear. She was not scary nor intimidating. Thick brown envelopes of cash were slid through windows which weren't even properly rolled down. I slit the top of the envelope with my thumb nail and smell the fresh smell of money.

Again I pulled out of there quickly behind the M3. The guy pulled over about thirty minutes later at a crummy motel to stop for the night. Me, I just wanted to get back to LA. Even though it was an undisputed rule of mine, I made an exception. I kept glancing in my rear view mirror. I kept checking there was no one following me. However being the second car of six to leave I felt somewhat content that they weren't behind me. I wasn't entirely content because in the circles I ran in, I knew I was never one hundred percent safe. There was always something or someone.

When I arrived back at the house I pulled my phone out of my hip pocket to see five missed calls from Brian and two messages from Mia.

"Let, worried about you it's three now!" Mia's second message read. I chuckled. Only Mia would be completely aware I hadn't yet returned and only Mia would bother to text me even though she knew I rarely checked my phone.

"Okay, I'll see you later then." That message from Mia was sent at one. It was now half four.

I rang Brian back and was met with an anxious panicked voice.

"Let, oh thank god!" Brian said before I got the chance to say hello. I could practically see him raking his hands through his blonde hair as he paced around waiting on my call.

"Hey Brian!" I fought a laugh. Crazy guy. He no doubt had me dead and buried. He should have known I was better than that. That I'd come back alive.

"You home yet?"

"Just pulled up." I rapped my fingers carelessly against the steering wheel.

"Would you be okay to swing by and we can talk or do you want to leave it?"

"I'll swing by."

We cut the call and I texted Mia I was okay but I'd be home before seven. I suppose she had every right to be worried. It was now the early hours of Friday morning. If it were a Sunday she wouldn't worry.

Turning the ignition I reversed back into the still and empty street. I drove round to Brian's at a leisurely pace not rushing because there was no reason to. I almost sighed as I pulled into carpark outside Brian's apartment block. I was exhausted and my eyes were stinging. Red Bull would remedy this. Sliding out of my Plymouth I made my way up to the door admiring what I assumed to be Brian's car out of the corner of my eye. A gleaming red Skyline with chrome alloys. He never did change. He was all about the flashy look, the shine. He didn't care about the power or what was under the hood. As long as it looked good, it didn't matter. I chuckled as I made my way past the sleeping doorman and up to the third floor.

Brian was standing in the doorway waiting for me. He looked the same as he always had except for his hair which was standing on end I assumed he'd run his hands through it many many times.

"You okay?" Brian asked.

"Yeh, you?" I cocked one eyebrow at him. It was a stupid question. I was obviously fine because I wasn't covered in blood and I looked in better shape that he did. Next to him I'd definitely not look flustered or anxious. He looked anxious enough for both of us.

"Yeh." He waved me in and closed his door behind me. I made my way through to his coffee table where'd he'd clearly been pouring over his case notes as they were spread across the table and pens were littered between sheets. He'd been impatiently putting in the time.

"You want the facts." I fell into the same spot in the sofa as last time but I was stiff from sitting in the car for so long.

"Please Let."

"Can I have a Red Bull first?" I needed a buzz. Something quick and instant.

Brian nodded and opened his fridge. "Just got the NOS energy drink..."

I nodded. I was feeling this. I'd been up early today as well and was running on fumes and it's no good for concentration. He passed me the can and I pulled the tab to a familiar fizzing noise. I knocked a few gulps back and almost instantly I felt the sugar reawakening me in a sugar kick.

"So Let anything strange?" Brian as he picked up his notepad.

"Whilst the two guys checked the cars they carried guns and watched Campos like hawks. Brian I don't care what the other agents thought, Campos is a big deal. The guys carried guns the whole time and they checked out of the corner of their eyes at him. That's strange."

I talked him through our journey and the drive through the tunnels explaining it was far easier to catch the drivers on either side of the border either on Mexican soil or American soil but not in the tunnels. The tunnels were far too dangerous.

"Thanks Let, if your GPS calls are you okay to run again?"

"I'm still alive." As long as I lived I'd run as many times as it took to bring Dom home.

"You know if you weren't a criminal. You'd have made a good cop. You're real observant Let."

"I would never have made a good cop. If I hadn't done all those crazy things and got mixed up with the people that I did. I'd never have learned to look for all those things. I learnt to do that from experience." I rolled my eyes at Brian. Being a cop had never appealed to me. Then I'd gotten drawn more and more into the criminal lifestyle and the more I got sucked into it the more I loved it because there was a certain freedom to it. No one looked at me funny or judged me. People accepted me for who I was and I did the same to them.

Brian shook his head and laughed at my answer. I took this as my opportunity to leave. I wanted to go back to 1327.

I smiled at him and stretched mumbling a goodbye. To my disappointment the first rays of sunshine were beginning to touch the pavement outside. That was slightly depressing. I assumed it to be about six. Brian had drilled me over my run for Braga.


	14. Chapter 13

**Letty's POV**

Stepping into my own home again was an amazing feeling. With our bed calling me I trudged up the stairs and slid my boots off at the bedroom door and abandoned them carelessly on the floor. Kicking my jeans off and tossing my tank top to the side I fell into bed and I heard nothing for the next few hours.

I rose at midday at Mia's insistence. She shook me awake almost violently and scolded me for not waking her to tell her I was alive.

"I was worried about you. God Let, don't you think of the worry I go through when you're out there until all hours of the night! Or morning! What time did you even get home?" Mia demanded. Her face was blotchy and her eyes red as though she'd sat up and waited on me for a good chunk of the night.

I sat up, wrapping the sheet around my exposed chest, and took the tea she held in her hand. I knew she wasn't too angry but was trying to talk sense into me like she always had. It rarely worked. I took a sip of the scalding tea and blinked a few times. I wasn't one for being woken like that. Yet I knew snapping at her would make everything worse.

"Sorry Mia, I was out at the races. Lost track of time. I was home not long after six." I was lying through my teeth though it was a stretching of the truth. It was a lie of omission.

Mia scoffed. She wasn't about to let up her charade of anger that quickly. I could tell by the slight laughing glint in her eyes she wasn't too angry but just wanted me to understand a little how she felt when I pulled stunts like that. I always felt guilty that I put her through shit like that, that my staying out until all hours made her worry but I had always stuck to my guns it was part of who I was and I didn't want to change who I was.

Mia sighed. "It would just be nice to know you're home. That you're safe."

"I'm always safe and I always make my way home again," I murmured gently to try and placate her. It was true. I always managed to return to 1327. Nothing kept me away from LA for very long.

"That's true, sorry for being mad... It's just I worry," Mia admitted. She looked exhausted but she smiled gently.

"What's on the agenda for today?" I asked trying to distract her.

"Umm not much," Mia said after thinking for a second.

I nodded and sipped at my tea. I was starting to feel more human. That really was a hateful way to be woken though. Who the hell shook someone awake? Yeh I slept like the dead but why do that to me?

"What are you going to do?" Mia asked.

"Work on the charger, sleep, eat," I joked.

Mia fought back a sigh as did I.

"Maybe tonight you'd come out with me to the new nightclub?" Mia asked, raising one eyebrow almost hopefully.

"Yeh, sure," I replied fighting back a no. I hated nightclubs. They weren't my sort of thing. A lot of the time I thought they were filled with desperate people who tried to ply someone with drink to get them into bed for an easy lay. I also hated how people tried to feel you up just because you were a girl. I might be a girl but that doesn't mean I want some random guys hand down my top or up my skirt.

That day passed slowly. A strange mix of lying beneath the charger until Mia yelled at me to get ready to go out.

I applied minimal makeup and pulled on a pair of black skinny jeans with a gold leafy pattern down one leg. Then I paired it with a tight red top, which accentuated my slim waist, and a wretched pair of Mia's high heels. I looked good. My freshly washed hair hung in loose waves around my face until my mid back.

Mia was dressed in a tight green bodycon dress which dipped low at the neckline and exposed a teasing amount of cleavage. It was short but long enough to be tasteful and not slutty.

We stood outside this club, Secrets. The name made me scoff. Whatever happened in here was to be a secret. God people kept enough of those. I kept many as did Dom, Mia, Brian. We all kept secrets. I just found it weird that the nightclub was called Secrets. Most people didn't admit to secrets but this club was named for them. The irony I found probably wouldn't have meant much to others but it meant something to me. Maybe it was a symptom of guilt.

Mia handed the doorman our tickets. The tall, broad muscular man looked vaguely familiar. There was something about his piercing green eyes that I remembered. He looked like one of the guys who frequented the street races. Just thinking about the street races had my toes itching to be on the gas pedal of my Plymouth, with the wind blowing through my hair and the smell of rubber and diesel in the air.

We were ushered into the low lighting all nightclubs had in common. For a second I was struck by the plainness of the inside. The club seemed quite casual, most women were wearing jeans and low cut tops whilst the men were wearing dress shirts and jeans. Along my left hand side the bar ran almost the whole length of the club. The main body of the floor was occupied by a dance floor and a DJ was stationed up the far side of the club. There was seats and tables to my right. The place was weirdly cool, kind of like a bar. It felt relaxed. No women were simpering to men instead you could see real carry on and banter between people and couples. I liked the look of it. Desperation didn't taint the air.

I dragged Mia to the bar and ordered a Coronas and a rosé West Coast Cooler for Mia. I slid the money across the bar and accepted the change with no hassle. For the first time in my life I got to stand at a bar and not be harassed by some guy trying to touch me.

We sat down together and had our first drink. I used the time to glance around me and get a feel for the place. My eyes latched on a Mexican looking guy. I recognised him. Narrowing my eyes to squint in the dim lighting, it took me a long minute to realise that the guy was Campos. If Campos were here I could only assume Fenix was here too. Instantly it became apparent to me that this club had opened quite coincidentally along with the emergence of Braga's cartel. I was actually willing to bet that Braga owned it or if not had a real hand in protection or even supplied this club with drugs. However my trained eyes didn't see anyone who looked to be on drugs here. There were no tell tale signs of tiny pupils or sleepy eyes that came with using heroin. Rather people were sitting chatting easily and eyes were narrowed due to the effects of alcohol.

"Who's caught your eye?" Mia asked, daring to take a quick glance over her left shoulder.

Being careful to maintain subtlety I nodded at Campos. "The guy in the black shirt with the thick gold chain."

This time Mia twisted slightly in her seat to look at him. Like me, she was careful to remain subtle. "How do you know him?"

"Street races."

"What's he like?" She asked turning back to me and leaning slightly across the table to hear properly.

"Strange," I said pondering how to phrase the next part, "He's a little removed. Talks sort of in riddles. Cryptic, I suppose. I don't like him much. I didn't think I'd see him here."

Mia shrugged. He wasn't important to her because of my omission of the truth. If she knew that the street race I was talking about was to audition for a cartel she'd likely be pissed off with me again. Maybe lies of omission, especially of this kind weren't necessarily a bad thing.

My eyes flicked around the club and slowly the pieces dropped into place. The guy on the door had been at the street race for Braga's cartel. I'd raced against him. As I looked around me again it all fell into place. Braga definitely owned this place. It was street racer central, packed with people who I recognised from the audition for Braga's cartel. Others I just knew from street races or rather I could picture them standing beside their car.

"You okay?" Mia asked.

"Yeh, just know a lot of people here from the races."

"Yeh I heard that Secrets is popular with the racers," Mia agreed. She didn't seem bothered. However why should she? She didn't know about Braga to my knowledge. I was just being paranoid.

We hit the dance floor at Mia's insistence. We drank and laughed. I didn't get drunk. I was mindful of how much I drank for fear of blowing my cover.

"I'll buy you this round," a guy with blonde hair said from beside me at the bar.

"I got it," I said firmly, pulling cash out of my pocket.

"I insist Letty. Not every day you get to meet the best street racer in LA."

I shrugged and let him pay for our drinks. Lifting my bottle of coronas and Mia's West Coast in my other hand I thanked the guy and passed Mia her drink.

Mia was taken up with this real jock looking guy. Broad shoulders and dark hair. Exactly her type. She and the guy moved over to chat, I hoped she wasn't abandoning me. The guy from the bar made his way towards me.

"Gordon," the guy said holding his hand out for me to shake.

Chuckling slightly I shook his hand. His grip was vice like, too firm. Most likely an attempt to impress me.

"Letty," I said for something to say, despite the fact I knew he knew my name. He'd called me by it at the bar.

"I saw you race a few times. You're something else," he said, flattery colouring his words, "Where'd you learn to race like that?"

"Don't know. I just got in the car one day and it just sort of came to me," I said carefully, "My love of watching racing must have been of some help." I shrugged. I wasn't sure. Dom taught me a lot but I didn't want to drag Dom up to people who didn't know him and also I didn't want to hurt myself by talking about him.

"You slay every time you race. What's your secret?" Gordon wanted to know my habits which I found weird. It was odd he was so interested in my racing.

"No secrets. Just talent," I replied with a touch of arrogance. This conversation was making me uncomfortable and I'd always found to best way to conceal discomfort was to be arrogant.

Gordon smirked at me. He seemed amused by my blunt refusal to tell him more. There were only a few things about my racing style I'd share with anyone.

"Give me one tip. Make me a better racer," he requested. He was desperate but clearly wanted to learn from the person he viewed as best. If so he should learn from Dom.

"You want a tip," I said leaning on a slightly higher than waist high bench.

He nodded eagerly. His eyes closed.

"One rule of racing is never look anywhere that ain't straight in front of you. Only look at where you're planting the car," I told him, "If you focus on everything around you, you'll start pointing the car in that direction. That's how I got this scar." I pulled my shirt sleeve up to expose the long scar on my wrist. Lucky I didn't lose my arm.

"You mess up?"

"Nah, my friend, soon to be boyfriend, messed up. Idiot had been staring at me so he planted his car in that direction."

Gordon laughed. His whole face creased up with laughter. He even threw his head back like a little kid laughing. I was slightly amused.

"Still with this guy?" He asked in a flirty manner.

I nodded. "Sorry buddy." I was internally thinking of my promise to Dom "You die, I die." I didn't want to be without him. I'd promised to be with him until the end.

Mia was now making out with the dark haired guy. I felt my eyebrows raise in surprise. For Mia that was quite a loose move. She usually dated a guy, I'd never seen her just casually make out with someone. I supposed people change and she was older. I'd always said she was capable of looking after herself and I was sort of glad I could see it now.

The night ended around an hour later and Mia and I headed home. I slumped into my bed and never moved a muscle until the next morning.


	15. Chapter 14

**Letty's POV**

On Tuesday my GPS beeped again. I was sprawled on the creeper on the garage floor and trying to fix the bumper back onto Dom's charger. Rolling out from beneath the Charger I picked the GPS up and watched as it downloaded co ordinates. Grabbing a rag I wiped the grime and grease off my arms and hands and checked my face over in the mirror so I wouldn't show up looking like a grease monkey or that I'd been dragged backwards through a hedge. I quickly scraped my hair into a messy ponytail as I walked to the garage door. I locked it up and slid into my Plymouth. My leather jacket was still in the back seat.

I rolled into the same garage as last week. Immediately I was stuck by the change in atmosphere. The guys searching the cars were huge in comparison to the ones last week. These men didn't even bother to conceal their guns. Typically Campos was present but again doing nothing other than being present. I watched him from my Plymouth as he strolled around the garage cockily and acted as though he knew what was going on. Though I was pretty sure Campos knew more than I gave him credit for. Even the drivers looked tougher and meaner than the scarcely innocent out of their teens boys from before. I frowned as I watched them. I was careful to study them carefully. The guy closest to me on my left was a solid man, broad shoulders and sat straight in the drivers seat of his M3.

I was waved forwards into the container. I was parked in the same place as last time. I took the opportunity to glance around me. Again I was the only muscle car in a mixture of imports. M3s seemed popular. They were beautiful to be fair. I was parked beneath a deep sapphire blue one and I could see a gold one parked beside it. I didn't like the gold one so much. I resent my text from last week to Brian, just forwarding it on. It didn't send, I assumed that there was something lining the container so phones didn't work.

Again the dim red light gave everything an eerie glow. Sitting in such a light was irritating. It was dim enough that it didn't prevent you from sleeping but it meant that everything cast almost sinister shadows on the walls of the container. Pulling my sun visor down my eyes were met with the photograph I'd put there during the past week. It was the photo of Dom and I at the white picnic bench outside 1327.

I drifted into a doze and once more I dreamt. I dreamt about the time Dom first stayed at my house. It was just a few weeks before Dom's Father died. I was fifteen to his eighteen but we were well matched. Everything we did was decided mutually.

 _We crept into my house in the cover of darkness. We'd been at the races until all hours. I think it was about three in the morning when we unlocked the backdoor to my house. I was fighting giggles as was unlike me but I'd had a couple of beers and the ecstasy from winning and Dom's victories had made me light headed with delight. Dom was shushing me as I stood in the doorway. He gave me a soft kiss, more of a brush of the lips, and caressed the side of my face oh so gently. I leant into his caress, drawn into the loving kindness of the gesture._

 _"Ten minutes and I'll be back," Dom murmured into the quiet night. All that could be heard was the sound of cars far into the distance._

 _"Promise?" I breathed. At fifteen I was still soft and vulnerable. At fifteen I still depended on promises and reassurances. I soon outgrew it._

 _"Promise."_

 _His lips brushed mines again and I could tell he meant every word. This was electric. Secret and amazing. So perfect for us._

 _The fifth stair creaked in the silent house as I started making my way up. Typically we were secretive, no one knew he was staying here tonight._

 _I walked into my room and opened the window to let a little air in. My room faced the sunset so it was always hot in here from late afternoon and for hours after the sun went down. I tugged the band out of my hair and let it fall to my mid back in its natural loose waves. I wasn't sure what to do. I probably should have told Mami I was home. No matter. I didn't creep up the stairs for nothing._

 _A rap at my window startled me so I opened it wider. Dom slipped in through the now wide open window bringing the sharp night air in with him. Instantly my arms were wound around his neck. He tangled one hand up in my hair and slipped the other onto my ass. He cupped one cheek with his hand firmly and I fought a back a moan against his lips._

 _Several long minutes later Dom had me sprawled across the bed. His hands oh so carefully slid my tank top up and over my head. Then his hands roamed slowly over my flat, toned stomach. He pressed a soft kiss to my stomach and I sighed in happiness. For a long second he paused then he looked into my eyes as deeply as only he could._

 _"I've never seen anything as beautiful as you right now," Dom mumbled._

 _I laughed a low throaty laugh so unlike my usual one. "That's because you're finally getting what you want." Dom had made no secret that he was ready for us to have sex._

 _"No it ain't," Dom murmured gently. "I've never seen anyone look like you. A perfect mixture of Angel and devil. I can see the devilment your eyes and I know you know what you want and how you want it. But I see the angelic side of you too, the innocent part of you that doesn't know what to expect. It's the most amazing, beautiful thing my eyes have seen and ever will see."_

 _Embarrassingly tears sprang to my eyes and I couldn't believe what he was saying. I didn't deserve someone who cared about me as much as he did. He had a rugged charm and a way with words which I lacked. He was incredible._

 _"Dom..." I was broke off as his lips covered mine. I was about to tell him he was truly amazing and I didn't deserve him but I didn't get the chance._

 _His face nuzzled into the curve of my neck. Dom tugged his top off and I ran my hands across the firm muscles of his chest._

 _That night I learnt a lot about Dom and even more about myself. Our deep rooted passion for cars translated into a fiery passion between the sheets. We were well matched in every respect._

 _The next morning Dom kissed me gently and I opened my eyes to see him in the slight morning light. Long shadows were cast against the far wall in the dim light._

 _"I'm going home Let before my Dad wakes," he murmured in his deep growl, "But I didn't want to leave you without saying goodbye."_

 _His rationale was really sweet I couldn't help but grin. No one knew he'd been here last night or that we'd planned to have sex._

 _"I'll see you later in the garage," I mumbled so Mami wouldn't hear._

 _"I'll see you then," Dom agreed._

 _We kissed gently again and he slipped out my window. Our first of many nights together was over but it was amazing. One of the best nights we'd ever spent together. It had an air of innocence that we'd long lost and one I knew we'd never get back but I realised we needn't ever return to that because we were too worldly wise to ever go back._

Sharp jolts of the container startled me awake. My eyes sprang open and I blinked a few times to adjust even to the dim light of the container. The other drivers were all sat with their eyes closed and looked relatively chilled when compared to the insane panic felt last time by the drivers.

I let my eyelids shut again so my alertness could never be caught onto by the other guys. Besides there was nothing of note happening in the container, there was nowhere to go in here and nothing to do but think.

I closed my eyes again and kept my mind empty of as much as possible. I needed a little more sleep. This time the memory of Dom and I's wedding replayed in my head. It was a regret of mines that we had no pictures of our wedding, not that the memory would ever leave me.

 _I stirred late in the morning. I'd guess about half eleven. Dom was laying beside me. His warm arm was circled around my waist and my head was rested on his broad chest. The baking heat had already made the room stuffy. A light layer of sweat covered my skin. My leg was entwined with Dom's. I wasn't surprised when I opened my eyes properly to see Dom's eyes already wide open and filled with amusement._

 _"Morning," Dom murmured gently._

 _"Mornin', I mumbled as I stretched. He was the only one who I'd ever been as pleasant to in the morning. Weirdly he was the only person I could tolerate being near me in the morning._

 _"Hey Let," he murmured in his deep growl. "Marry me today?"_

 _I wrestled with my surprise we'd never discussed marriage before. I'd always assumed it wasn't the path for us. Seriously what common criminal has time for marriage? We're always on the run, we didn't stay in one place anymore nor were we guaranteed to still be in the same place in the morning. Yet here he was suggesting the most normal thing for us to do._

 _Then why shouldn't we be married? We had already given so much to each other. I knew I didn't want anyone else nor would I ever. So why shouldn't we just go whole hog and get married. All that would really change was my last name and the fact the law would recognise our relationship fully. Marriage wouldn't change how I felt about him, it would merely show what I felt for him._

 _"Today?" I asked lazily, stretching._

 _"Today," he affirmed. He knew I was teasing him a little._

 _"Okay."_

 _We rolled out of bed an hour or so later and Dom drove us into the nearby town. There was one dress shop in that town. One. I'd never set foot in a dress shop before for myself. I'd only ever been to one to lift a prom dress for Mia and finish paying for it whilst Dom was in Lompoc and I'd always sworn that was enough. Now I was going into one for myself. I wanted, just once, to look like a girl for Dom._

 _I fell in love with the first dress I tried on. Backless, long and floaty it brushed the floor elegantly. I chose a pair of pumps to wear with it because I needed to be comfortable. The dress was white, I was no virgin and God knew Dom and I knew it, but I wanted to wear white on my wedding day._

 _"You look beautiful senorita," the lady said gently as I looked in the mirror._

 _"Gracias," I replied turning to see the back._

 _"But senora needs flowers for her hair."_

 _"No, no," I began in a hopeless attempt to protest._

 _The lady waved her hand dismissively. She lifted a few flowers from her counter and wove it into a little crown with quick efficient weaves. She placed it in my hair carefully then turned me so I was looking in the mirror. It changed the look of the dress almost completely. It made me look almost princess like. I'd never looked like this before. Hell I'd never even gone to prom. I'd never enjoyed the looking like a girl experience._

 _I changed back to into my shorts and tank top. The lady wrapped my dress up and placed it into a big paper bag. Then put my shoes in a separate bag along with the flowers for my hair. I bought a few pieces of make up which I didn't wear very often and paid her. Her eyebrows almost met her hairline with surprise as I pulled the cash out of my hip pocket and paid her in one quick transaction._

 _I met Dom back at the car. I bundled my stuff into the back and sat back in the passengers seat. I loved it when he drove me around. He was an amazing driver. With him the road held no limits, we could go anywhere when he drove. There needn't be a destination in mind, he'd get us somewhere. No maps. No GPS. Just an open road and time to travel and explore every crevice of the world._

 _Back at the house I pulled out some of the makeup I'd bought, frugal as the quantity of it was. Foundation and eyeliner with a little mascara was all I'd thought I'd need. With great care I applied my makeup and when I was finished my eyes were striking as they stood out framed by long, thick eyelashes._

 _It was approaching seven so I slid into my dress. Again I was struck by the fact I looked like a girl. It was so strange but I was liking it. Night was beginning to fall outside so I carefully made my way out to the car._

 _The half hour drive into town felt too long. I experienced waves of panic. I was scarcely able to believe this was real and waves of pure excitement that this was actually real, that I'd soon be Mrs Toretto. What if he changed his mind? What if he hated the dress? I dismissed those thoughts quickly, they didn't even bare thinking about as they'd merely serve to waste my energy._

 _Inside the Chapel was lit with candles casting long shadows on the walls and creating a warm romantic glow. Perfectly beautiful but nothing like I'd been imagining all day. At the top of the alter stood Dom wearing white trousers and a white tank top. The white contrasted with his tan skin and his muscular arms caught my attention almost immediately. For a second I stood in the doorway just staring at him. I was really marrying my man. This couldn't be real. We didn't do normal. This was too normal for us to be real._

 _He glanced towards the door and we locked eyes as he realised I was lingering there staring at him like a hopeless and love struck teenager. We held eye contact for a long moment before I began to make way way up the aisle. In what felt like a heartbeat I was in front of him and we were holding hands. Distantly I could hear the Priest praying in Spanish and blessing our marriage._

 _The Priest paused and looked between us. "Who has the rings?"_

 _I bit my lip as I realised neither of us had the rings. We'd totally forgotten the rings._

 _"Will this do?" Dom asked as he removed the silver cross he'd always worn from around his neck._

 _I felt two tears seeping down my cheeks as I realised how perfectly beautiful this moment was for us. We might have stolen away like the common criminals we were in the night to get married, but it was incredibly beautiful and intimate. We got the chance to be just us, Dom and Letty, together in front of the Priest and for us that was enough. More than we ever could have hoped for. I'd never hoped for a ring from Dom, hell, I'd never gotten one from him. I suppose you can't really wear a ring when you're working in a garage all the time._

 _We raised our hands and clasped them before the Priest and he draped the necklace over our hands and blessed it. I could feel the traces of tears lingering on my cheeks. We stood there with our hands clasped._

 _"We have eternity in this moment," Dom murmured to me. This moment would be forever ours, unspoiled by anyone else or the world. In that moment all that mattered was us._

 _I looked up at him and felt myself smile. "You will never be alone again. I vow wherever you go, I go. You ride, I ride. You fight, I fight. And if you ever die on me Dominic Toretto, I'm going to die with you."_

 _Dom bent down to kiss me and I leant up into him. As his lips met mine I'd never felt more for him and all I could think was that he was right, we did have eternity in this moment. This moment was still ours. Only we could lay claim to this moment. Our most precious moment together._

 _The Priest continued the prayers when we finally managed break our kiss._

 _Afterwards Dom clasped his necklace around my neck. I placed my hand on it feeling the cool silver beneath my fingers. He escorted me out to the car. The pair of us walking hand in hand._

 _We had just arrived back from our wedding ceremony and had already made the marriage completely official, pulling over on the side of the road on the way back. Now my beautiful dress was slightly rumpled where Dom had simply bunched it up around my waist. The front of his top was wrinkled where I'd gripped onto it too tightly. Now we were back at the house I was ready to go again. Walking in what I hoped was a seductive manner I made my way up to the bedroom. It must have been because Dom followed me up the hall._

 _As he pinned me to the wall, hoisting my arms above my head, holding my wrists together. It was teasing and weirdly comforting in a way. He nuzzled into the curve of my neck and I sighed as I closed my eyes in pleasure. He kissed my neck then murmured in my ear, "My warrior princess."_

I smiled at the memory. Raising my hand to my throat I felt the cool silver of the cross. I ran my fingers over the raised diamonds and thought for a long moment about Dom. I wore this necklace every single day and I knew even without it I wouldn't forget him. I wore it to remind myself that it was real, we had done the most normal thing ever and had gotten married.

The guys around me were sitting with their eyes closed and there was a more relaxed feel in the container this time. These guys had obviously all been run before. That peaked my interest as panic shot through my system. Now I knew to be wary. I could get hurt this time. I drew a few quick breaths and calmed myself before it could be noticed that I was panicking, I'd give myself away.

I sat there for what felt like a month staring at the photo of Dom and I. I wished I could go back to that. That photo was taken before it all got complicated. No matter how much I loved the adrenaline driven life we lived I'd always crave what we could have had. In the long run I knew we'd got something better, we knew each other better that most couples could dream of knowing their significant other. Yet I knew something buried deep inside me would always crave normality. We'd lost normality a long time ago.

The jolting, rattling metallic roll of the container door being forced open startled me out of my thoughts. Braga's men held guns. Big guns which they didn't even bother to conceal. Unease spread through me and my stomach clenched. I flicked my eyes to see the guy beside me frowning and sitting up straighter. Even he seemed confused by this. He'd been run before for sure.

We rolled out of the container onto a hard pack of dirt. It was then I remembered the rough unforgiving nature of the terrain. I had to clutch it slowly across the empty expanse of land and we parked in a semi circle like last time. It struck me for a cartel it was strange that they had a routine. That they had habits. Stupidity like habits meant predictable which meant easy infiltration. We slipped out of the cars and moved to the front and I leant against the hood to give myself the appearance of ease.

"Sync the GPSs," Gizelle ordered sharply. Her words tight, clipped. Her mouth was pinched at the corners and her eyes looked heavy as though she'd just been given some unpleasant news.

I fumbled and pushed the same button as last time. I still wasn't a techie person. My brains would always lie with the cars, the gears and the racing.

I slipped back into my car and muttered to myself, "You got this. You got this." I flicked my eyes back to Gizelle typically decked out in her leather jacket and as I studied her her mouth moved and formed the words, "Vaya con Dios." The words stuck with me. Go with God. Her choice of phrase had always lingered uncomfortably with me. It seemed so foreign to me that a member of a cartel could possess such a heavy respect for their religion. Yet if I thought about it there were many religious movements based on fighting back and sticking up for what one believed in using all means in their power, liberation theology popped into my head. It was common in the DR and a belief I agreed with to an extent. One should always stand up for the oppressed and never stand idly by in cases of injustice.

We rolled off one after the other. This time I chose to follow the guy in the gold M3 and be second to last. Something in me wanted to get a better field of vision. There was something heavy in the air this time and a terrible sinking feeling I couldn't shift from my mind.

Fenix joined late as he had done last time so I wasn't all that shocked by his sudden arrival. My field of vision was dramatically improved being further behind in this convoy. I preferred the greater scope of view. We rolled down the rocky slope into the tunnels. The drive through the tunnels was no less gnarly than the last trip. I was sat on the edge of my seat, my eyes trained sharply on the tail lights of the gold M3. The red glow kept me focused as we took sharp turns into narrow tunnels.

Once more when we ascended the slope I breathed out comfortably. I was glad to be out of the tunnels.

At the rendezvous point we were waved out of the cars. Fenix's eyes eyes narrowed. He knew there was a rat among his crew, he just didn't know who. In his hand he held a shotgun. I pretended not to be noticing every movement made by Braga's men. In my peripheral vision I saw a guy move so he was behind me. My stomach churned. I was getting shot. We were getting shot. They knew there was a rat among us, they didn't know who it was and rightly so they had grouped the good drivers, who the FBI would use, together to eliminate them in one go.

One of the boys was waved forward. There was no need for words. Idiotically or naively, I wasn't sure which, he bounded forwards as if expecting Fenix to shake his hand for a job well done. I was condemning him. If he was as stupid as he appeared to be he almost deserved to be shot.

Bang!

The boy crumpled to the desert sand lifeless. His dark eyes staring up into the sky, unseeing. The pool of his scarlet blood was spreading steadily across the sand stirred inside me my fight or flight instinct. There was no point in fighting because I had no weapon close to hand bar my actual hands and feet. This time I'd run. I brought my foot down on the guy's foot behind me and sent my elbow into his stomach knocking the wind out of him. As he gasped for air I pushed him over. Hoping against hope I was praying I'd reach LA and be completely hidden before they'd find me. I had a full tank of gas and a lifetime of street race experience on my side. Luck was probably against me.

Ducking straight into my car I threw her into reverse and got the hell out of there.

I put my foot down and wrestled with the temptation to ring Brian. There was nothing he could do for me. I rang him twice and hung up our code for aborting the mission. I was clocking one forty in no time. In my rear view mirror I saw Fenix's car behind me. I pressed the accelerator even more deciding I'd take him a route that I'd know better than him. I drove right out into the outside roads of LA forcing him to chase me. Caught like a deer in headlights I didn't have a clue how to escape this.

I led him little roads that I only knew from racing and was tempted to lead him into the town centre where he'd maybe not hurt me. Though I didn't think location would matter to Fenix, public or private he would shoot me. Even in my panic I had enough sense to keep him away from the house and from Mia. I needed to protect Mia for Dom, even if I could no longer protect myself.

Out of nowhere his speed picked up and I saw his car cutting close to mine. In one last desperate attempt I pressed the NOS button on my steering wheel and made it a little out of his way but he quickly caught up again. Terror was pumping through my veins and my heart was beating so fast I could hear it thudding in my ears. I took the next left, bringing him closer to LA, hoping desperately Brian was trying to track me down.

As I took it onto the road, I was actually pretty close to where we used to hide the Civics that we used for our heisting of the trucks. With one sharp turn Fenix knocked the side of my Plymouth and I felt myself lose control of the car and it skidded. The sickening metallic crunch of metal clanged through the air prompting a ringing sensation in my ears.

Another knock from Fenix, chipped the back end up and the car rolled. At my speed the car rolled fast, lifting in places off the ground. Cracking rang in the air as the glass shattered around me. Little blades of glass tore my right shoulder and arm and they looked as though they'd been shredded by claws as bloody ribbons decorated one arm. As the car rolled all I could hear was crunching, tearing and the ripping of bolts. I gripped onto the steering wheel for dear life as if to keep myself bound to this earth. Praying silently I hoped if I was to die, I'd die before Fenix had the chance to shoot me or if not I'd go down fighting and take him with me. The car skidded to a halt with that churning sound of metal on tarmac, with wild sparks flying in all directions around me.

"I love you Letty, I will always love you." Out of nowhere Dom's words came back to me. He was the reason I was doing this. The memory of his words. The memory of the feel of his lips on mine gave me a reason to want to keep fighting.

Fumbling I unbuckled my five point harness and felt myself tumble unceremoniously to ground. Every bone in my body ached and I knew I'd broken ribs at the very least. Shakily I opened the door. For a second I lay there gasping for breath, the heavy weight of the silver cross resting in the hollow of my throat. I pulled myself together. I'd go down fighting now. I wasn't going to live through today, I was out of luck. Grunting with effort I pushed myself up on all fours, preparing myself to stand up and fight for all I was worth. I was refusing to go down with shame tainting my name. I was going down a fighter. He would remember me as the fighter I'd been all my life. I'd never turned away from a fight and I wasn't about to start now.

I looked up into Fenix's face and I saw the little handgun he now held. Aiming the gun directly at me he poised himself to shoot. Shaking I began to push myself to my feet, feeling the loose stones of the tarmac digging into my open cuts. Pain drove me on and gave me a reason to fight.

At the last second he changed his mind and aimed his gun at the car. Why he changed direction I'd never know, maybe he was impressed by my bravery and refusal to go down without a fight. Maybe he was scared of me? Despite his impressive size he might have been rubbish in actual combat. Whatever the case may be he aimed at the car. The force of the explosion knocked me backwards down the side of the road into the ditch and more pain coursed through my body as my head thudded against a rock. The last words I heard were, "That girl is one tough bitch," before I succumbed to the blackness, deciding to embrace it like I'd embrace... Like I'd embrace. My train of thought was gone and I couldn't remember who I was thinking about.


	16. Epilogue

**Dom's POV**

I'd been in Panama City for three months. This place had grown on me but I still missed Letty. The city was filled with life and a buzz. It was sort of like the DR, the people were friendly and had a real community ethic, a family ethic, where they looked out for each other. It was the reason I'd enjoyed living here so much, it was somewhat like being at home with my family. The people had embraced me, welcoming me into their lives and I'd embraced them. They hadn't filled the gap that leaving Letty had made in my life but they'd reminded me what it was like to have a family around me always.

Whilst there I filled my days tuning up cars like we had done for years in LA. As I lay beneath the cars day in, day out, I'd think of something funny to say and roll out from beneath the car on the creeper, only to realise there was no one there to joke with. Other times I'd stop and think and turn to ask for an opinion, Letty's opinion, on what to do next and realise with a pang of guilt that she wasn't there to help me. It was strange being alone after all these years of being together.

Every night I sat down with my surrogate family for dinner, always saying grace before we ate. There was something hollow about it. It wasn't the same. It wasn't the same without Letty's laugh ringing as she settled herself to say grace because once more she had reached first. It wasn't the same without my sister Mia rapping Letty on the knuckles with a spoon because she was reaching over Mia's shoulder stealing chips from the tray. It wasn't the same without Mia smiling as she set the table for the "small army of mechanics," her words, as we traipsed in from another day at the garage.

One Wednesday, round midday, as I lay beneath yet another car a friends son, Marco, interrupted my work. He jabbered in easy and rapid Spanish, telling me that a woman had called for me. Only Mia knew where I was and she had uneasily promised not to tell Letty. As much as Mia despised keeping secrets from her best friend, she'd reluctantly understood that I was trying to protect her. Unless Mia had finally cracked under pressure from Letty, which I doubted, it was Mia.

I walked out into the crowded street and lifted the phone to my ear.

"Dom?" Mia's gentle voice sounded down the phone.

"Mia, I told you not to call me here," I murmured down the phone, my tone softening as it always had when I spoke to my baby sister.

"Dom, it's Letty," Mia began, her words heavy and ringing with emotion. She choked back a sob and my heart almost stopped. "She's been murdered."

A wail broke my sister off and I felt two tears rolling down my cheeks. The invincible Leticia Toretto was dead. She'd escaped death so many times times before and now it had finally caught up to her. My stomach sank and I fought for enough composure to formulate a plan.

"I'm coming home Mia," I murmured.

"You can't. The cops are still looking for you."

"I won't get caught."

A sigh sounded down the phone and I knew Mia was already planning my return to Lompoc. We hastily said goodbye and hung up.

Letty was dead. That woman was dead. The only woman who was as tough as any man. The only woman who could ever have completely stolen my heart was gone. My wife was dead. She was gone.

I hated myself for not being there for her. I hated myself for leaving her. For the last three months every time I'd rolled over in the morning I'd always half expected to be prevented from rolling any further by her warm body which had been sprawled across my bed for the best part of the last eleven years, and every time it hadn't been there I'd been disappointed. Sometimes I'd even imagine I'd seen her face in a crowd and I'd search for her, only to find she wasn't there and it would crush me.

Getting into my car, a red Chevrolet Chevelle, I headed home. I needed to be home in time for her funeral. I owed my wife that more than I'd ever owed her anything.

As I drove the emptiness I was feeling increased. Without her I had been lost, wading through life, but when she was around I had a reason for everything. She had lit up my life in many ways. Every race I had ever been to there had been bimbos queuing up to have sex but Letty had never done that, she'd never had to. From the moment I saw her at that street race when she was fifteen, her first street race, she had been all I'd ever wanted. Maybe she wasn't your traditional idea of beautiful but she was beautiful to me. When girls had thrown themselves at me, she easily blew them all out of the water by giving them a look. Letty always reminded me it might be fine to look but the second I touched another girl was the second we ended. I'd always loved her fierce independence, wild passion and her loyalty. She was loyal to a fault, her loyalty to anyone in her family was her ultimate weakness, much like me.

As I drive I mulled over our time together. Memories floated through my mind. Only some did I latch on to. My return from Lompoc replayed involuntarily in my mind.

 _Being back in the garage was an incredible feeling. Letty seemed to be booked solid. Outside the garage she had at least six cars parked and when I went inside she had three parked there as well. She was slammed. For a few seconds I watched as she stood bent beneath the bonnet of some guys crappy import, a Skyline. The smell of rubber and grease lingered in the air of the garage and the heat only served to make the smell more intense almost sickening._

 _"So... Not part of the welcome home committee?" I teased Letty. She was bent beneath the hood of the car, her tight jeans clung to her pert rear end._

 _She'd been so absorbed in her work she jumped upright and spun to face me. A smile stretched across her face as her eye clapped onto my face for the first time in twenty two months. With great care she took in every detail of my face, seeing what had changed and what hadn't. Likewise I raked my eyes over every inch of her. Her smile was still the same. Her hair was a couple of inches longer but swung up in a loose ponytail but that didn't stop a few strands escaping down her neck. My eyes slid down the curves of her body, she looked thinner._

 _"Not really my style, is it?" She joked. Her voice hasn't changed. It still had the same smoky edge it always had. I could almost hear the faint ring of her laugh in the air._

 _I hadn't held her in my arms for two years and that felt far too long ago now. Crossing the space between us in two great strides, I placed my hands on her waist and leant down and kissed her softly. Thinking of the day I'd finally get to kiss her again had gotten me through two years in prison and now I was finally kissing her, the two years had been worth the wait._

 _"So you're here every day?" I asked her. My eyes started taking in the sight of the garage. The once familiar scene hadn't changed all that much. She'd kept the garage looking how it always had, the tools spilling out of drawers, some carelessly abandoned on the floor. More grease spots dotted over the floor but that was inevitable. I could probably still find my way around in here blindfolded if I tried._

 _"Yeh, every day." Her tired eyes gave away every ounce of herself which she had poured into this. What she'd accomplished was incredible and I only hoped she hadn't drained herself completely. I'd always admired the Latina's spirit and fighting instinct. Everything she did she did with such a passion and total dedication. It was clear she'd given everything she could to the garage and for that I would be forever grateful to this one of a kind woman._

 _"You did good Let, real good," I told her admiringly. With those words her eyes lit up and I saw her passion once more. The girl I'd admired was still there and I was going to bring her back. I'd give her every bit of myself I had to give and every bit after that. She deserved so much more than I'd ever be able to give her._

 _I could see her eagerness to return to her work so I let myself get caught up in the familiar work of tinkering beneath the hood of a car. Instantly I felt like myself. It was easy to see why I'd always loved this life. Once I was finished with the first car, a crappy Fiesta, I moved onto the next one. My shoulders sagged as I finally relaxed for the first time in two years. In prison I'd always been looking over my shoulder and that had made me permanently tense, but just being here near her had changed that. I just enjoyed myself spending time with her and it was what I'd been waiting for for two years._

 _"You're real busy Let," I said as I finished my third car of the day._

 _"Always am," she replied as she stretched. No doubt her back ached from slaving over these cars all day. I know mine hurt._

 _I shook my head in amazement that the girl was still standing. Other girls would have thrown in the towel because it was too difficult, but not her. Letty Ortiz was no quitter and never would be a quitter._

 _"It ain't been easy the last while without you," she said with a sigh. She bent back over the orange Skyline and got reabsorbed in her work. Dedicated to her cause._

 _"That ain't fair though. I bet you've never held money back from Mia for anything she needed and I bet you've gone without plenty." I could bet all the money I didn't possess right now that my little sister had wanted for nothing while I'd been away. I could bet that it was Letty who sat up late into the night figuring out where the money to pay the bills and mortgage next month would come from. My money would also be placed on the fact she'd probably cried more tears in the last two years of her life than in the sixteen years that had passed before that. One look at her told me that._

 _"That ain't true, I've never gone without anything. I've had a roof over my head, a bed to sleep in, a dinner on the table every single night and a family to come home each night." Everything she named was a small thing the rest of the free world most likely took for granted, however, as she named each thing she was grateful for her eyes sparkled with love. It was so obvious that everything she had done she had done out of love, loyalty and compassion for Mia._

 _I scoffed. "But you shouldn't have had to sell your car."_

 _She stood up poker straight and waved her right arm which was holding a heavy wrench. "I was faced with a choice and a difficult one at that! I could either choose to let Mia and I become homeless, work even more hours in the garage and probably kill myself in the process or I could sell the Cobra. I wasn't going to let us become homeless because you were coming home in eighteen months and, damn it Dom, 1327 was still going to be there when you came home! I did all I could to keep 1327 for you so that when you returned everything would be as you left it. Damn it, I did it for you. Honestly I didn't think I'd have to explain that to you Dom!"_

 _Her eyes lit with her famous fighting spirit and I saw the Letty I'd fallen for. The Letty I'd carried an image of in my head for the last two years. She was incredible as always._

 _When her words sunk in I realised I was probably the one person she'd expected the understand her actions all along. She'd done everything for me and here I was questioning her. I should be thanking her for devoting two years of her life to a six month relationship. She'd proved she loved me yet I was stood questioning her._

 _"Thank you," I began, "Thank you for everything. Everything you did for Mia and in turn for me. I was inside 1327 and it's exactly as it always has been, my room is just as I left it. Most of all thank you for the garage. It's exactly as it was two years ago. The only thing that's changed is it actually pays for itself. What you've done is amazing Let, I'm so proud of you."_

 _Two tears ran down her face and she walked towards me. "I didn't mean for you to say thank you. I just thought you'd understand more than anyone else why I did all those things."_

 _"Letty, I promise everything I do from now on, I'll do for you," I said as I leant down to kiss her again._

 _Her lips collided with mine and we quickly deepened the kiss making up for two years of lost time._

The memory prickled at my conscience. I'd promised everything I'd do I'd do it for her. I'd left her under the guise of pretending to be doing it for her good not mine. I thought leaving her meant she'd be safer. Clearly I was wrong, she'd been safer when I'd been there.

After two days travel I reached LA. This was risky but getting sent back inside didn't matter anymore. I wasn't running anymore, running ain't freedom. As I crossed into the state of LA I could hear Letty saying to me, in her sexy husky voice, _"Do you feel that?_ _How can you be three thousand miles away from this?"_ I had been more than three thousand miles away from her and I had resented every single one of those miles. Now she was even further away from me and this distance couldn't be crossed.


End file.
